Return to 2000: Captain of the Great Powers

Chapter 378 Real Airplane Collision!
In the central square of the Airbus headquarters in Toulouse, Neo Otto and Ronnie Covein strolled along the aisle on the edge of the square with coffee in their hands.

Not long ago, the results of Ronnie Covein's punishment came down.Unsurprisingly, Ronnie Covein dropped from the top to the middle in one fell swoop, and was still lower than the middle.

However, Ronnie Covein's position is gone, and some connections are still there.At least he can still talk to Neo Otto.

"I heard that more than 380% of the airlines that ordered the first batch of A[-]s filed lawsuits?"

Neo Otto was also annoyed by the incident, and was troubled when Ronnie Covein brought it up: "Saudi, Qatar Airways, Air Canada, United, Southwest, Delta Airlines, British Airways, and Japan Airlines are all involved in the lawsuit, and the scale is huge."

"British Airways!" Ronnie Covein was stunned: "British Airways executives have lost their minds, aren't we on the same side?"

The clues can be seen from the distribution of airlines involved in the lawsuit. There are no European airlines, except British Airways.

Because Airbus' interests in Europe are deeply entangled, European airlines must not stab Airbus at some critical moments.

Of course, there are also a few of them, such as British Airways.

"England? When did they come with us?" Neo Otto snorted.

Airbus is headquartered in Toulouse, France, and each Airbus branch is respected by France.Therefore, Airbus has a strong French brand.

When facing France, the British often have a throbbing genetically, and they want to take advantage of France from time to time.

It mainly stems from the long-standing feud between Britain and France since the Middle Ages.That's something that's inscribed in the genes.

"If you say that, it's really hard to refute." Ronnie Covein said helplessly: "In Europe, British Airways is just an outlier. Air Canada is resentful because of our attack on Bombardier. Home is also normal, after all, it is Boeing's site. However, JAL is quite strange. We had a good relationship with JAL before, and there is no obvious conflict of interest between us. They have no position to express. Of course, the most incomprehensible The only ones that matter are Saudia and Qatar Airways, why did they stand up."

Saudi Airlines and Qatar Airways are well-known local tyrant airlines. In the first batch of A380 order lists, Saudi Airlines and Qatar Airways purchased the largest number.Moreover, these two families spent a lot of money and directly moved the presidential suite into the plane.

As long as the money is enough, you can even take a bath on the plane, which is outrageous.

It stands to reason that the reaction of these two should not be so big.Because at the beginning of the A380 problem, Airbus had contacted these two major customers in private, indicating the possibility of delaying the delivery of the A380.

At that time, the reaction of the two companies was not severe, and they even expressed their understanding of the delayed delivery of the Airbus 380.It is precisely because of the understanding of these two largest customers that Airbus has the confidence to make the A380 problem public.

However, it didn't take long for Saudi Airlines and Qatar Airways to change their faces, and their attitudes made a 180-degree turn, which caught Airbus off guard.

"I don't know, this change of attitude is too strange." Neo Otto frowned: "Nowadays, all the lawsuits are filed by large companies, and it is not easy for us to exert pressure. The total amount of damages filed now is billions of dollars. It’s too stressful for us.”

If it is a small company, won't Airbus come to bully others?
All major airlines can sue, and even Airbus must be treated with caution.Pushing them too hard can easily make them more inclined to Boeing, which is obviously not in the interest of Airbus.

But under the current situation, once a lawsuit is filed, Airbus has a high probability of losing.No way, this matter is as simple as that, and it is completely Airbus' responsibility.A large number of airlines have invested a huge amount of money for the warm-up of the A380, such as Blue Sky Airlines, which is a gamble on the A380 with their pants.

As a result, Airbus gave away all the airlines, and it is normal for Airbus to bear the liability for compensation.

However, Airbus has already overspend a lot on the A380 project, the capital chain is not normal, and because of low-level mistakes, it missed the opportunity to recover blood.

With the news of class action lawsuits, Airbus's already precarious stock price plummeted again, making life that was not rich even worse.

Ronnie Covein couldn't help but frowned. He didn't want Airbus to collapse, and he was looking forward to a comeback in the future.

"Do you want me to go to those companies?" Ronnie Covein suggested: "In this situation, no matter how fast we rush, regardless of the cost, the first A380 will not leave the factory until half a year later. I I'm worried that if it goes on like this, it won't last half a year."

Neo Otto glanced at Ronnie Covain.He knew that Ronnie Covein's little thinking, eager to perform when the company was in crisis, actually had no effect.

Moreover, now that Ronnie Covein has stepped down as COO, the level is too low, and the heads of those large airlines may not be able to see Ronnie Covein.

Presumably, Ronnie Covain can understand this too, but it is precisely because of this that he has to go all the more.

Neo Otto didn't pierce Ronnie Covein's little thoughts.The main reason is that after Ronnie Covein left office, his news channels were blocked a lot. The problem facing Airbus is not only the A380, but also the A330.

"Not long ago, a piece of news broke out at the 787 official press conference at the North American Expo." Neo Otto's face was extremely solemn: "According to Boeing, the fuel efficiency of the 787 will be 330% higher than that of the A20.00 in the future."

Ronnie Covein stopped directly: "How much?"

Neo Otto sighed: "20.00%."

"20.00%?" Ronnie Covein yelled directly: "The Boeing group is talking nonsense. How could it be possible to increase the efficiency so much? Impossible, absolutely impossible."

"So you're saying that Boeing is treating everyone like idiots? Fuel efficiency data is easy to measure, and airlines are extremely sensitive to this data. You mean Boeing is deliberately playing its customers for idiots?"

"However, the 20.00% increase in fuel efficiency is too exaggerated, isn't it?" Ronnie Covein was still 1 in disbelief: "The A330 is not a new aircraft, but its aerodynamic layout is definitely not old. The 700 engine also works well. Its fuel efficiency is definitely above the middle level among wide-body aircraft. For the same type of aircraft, the fuel efficiency must be different. However, today’s passenger aircraft technology has matured day by day, and the level gap will not be too big Big, how is it possible to generate a 20.00% improvement in fuel efficiency?"

Ronnie Covein is not the kind of leader who sits in an office all day. He has basic common sense.

Ronnie Covein's judgments are based on reason and logic.However, it is also based on rationality and logic that Boeing will never fool people in this matter.

From a personal point of view and intuition, Neo Otto is more inclined to agree with Boeing's statement. After all, this kind of thing is really not easy to fake. Even from a common sense, this data increase is indeed too exaggerated.

"Dreamliner, Dreamliner, it's really a Dreamliner." Neo Otto sighed: "Since that was the press conference, three airlines have canceled their orders for the A330, which is a very bad news." Omen."

"They want to wait for the 787? Impossible, this project has just been approved, and it will take at least seven years before delivery."

"It doesn't matter if the demand for wide-body aircraft is not very strong. And those who have demand will switch to order a small amount of Boeing 330 after canceling the subscription of A777 as a transition for Boeing 787."

Although the initial investment of the Boeing 777 is large, the upper limit of modification is much higher than that of the A330. If you buy a small amount to meet the growing demand for wide-body aircraft and pave the way for the Boeing 787, this investment will definitely not be lost.

"Boeing 777, damn it."

This is the benefit of a series, customers' high expectations for future products will be fed back to the previous generation of products.As a substitute for the Boeing 787, the sales of the Boeing 777 will usher in a wave of growth in the future, while the direct competitor A330 will not end well.

"If the prospect of the A330 is not good, and the A380 is not successful, then we are back to the past in the field of wide-body aircraft?"

Originally, Airbus launched the A330 under the advantage of being a latecomer, defeating the Boeing 767 without any power to fight back.Afterwards, the Boeing 777 had to be launched to deal with it, but suddenly it seemed to be a little too strong. The Boeing 777 actually does not quite match the A330 on the track. It is larger in size, and its cost control is not perfect.

Fortunately, Boeing has sufficient technical reserves. Shortly after the Boeing 777 commercial flight, the Boeing 787 was launched, and this time it was specifically aimed at the A330. Its exaggerated performance directly crushed the A330.

In contrast, the A330, Airbus's best work after the A380, encountered Waterloo. Before COMAC, Airbus fell a big somersault.

Now a lot of the reputation accumulated in the past has turned into infamy, and the future is worrying.

And, there is one more important thing.That is, the Boeing 787 has twin engines, while the last hope A380 has four engines.

Even in the description of Airbus's aviation hub plan, they repeatedly believe that the era of giant four-engine aircraft is not over, on the contrary, it is now the peak era of four-engine giant airliners.The means of transportation between the first-level hubs is none other than the A380.

However, Boeing is obviously not very interested in this plan, and even said that Boeing has not upgraded the 747 series much.This shows that Boeing judges that the four-engine aircraft has no future.

Despite Airbus's vows, business matters are full of coincidences. What if Boeing is right?In case the four-engine jumbo airliner has no future, then is the A380 under the aviation hub plan a product of complete failure?

If the direction is wrong, everything that follows will be wrong.

In case this terrible possibility comes true, wouldn't Airbus have no way to deal with it on a twin-engine wide-body aircraft?
Neo Otto and Ronnie Covein are both aviation business leaders. Once a certain question is raised, subsequent questions can be thought of.

In some extreme conditions, it is really possible that Airbus will be given to the general by Boeing 787.

Ronnie Covein looked at Neo Otto: "In order to prevent the most terrible result, I feel that we need to study a new model on the twin-engine wide-body aircraft to replace the A330."

"Ronnie, it looks like you're not out of your mind yet."

At this moment, a middle-aged man in his 40s came from not far away.In the Airbus headquarters park, he doesn't wear a formal suit like other employees, but a casual sweater. It doesn't look like a regular Airbus employee, and his appearance is very casual.

Airbus has certain requirements on the attire of its employees, at least not allowed to wear a casual sweater, but no one reminded him of the attire problem.

No way, this person is the highest-level CEO of Airbus, Heimlein von List.

Feng is a preposition, where do you think it came from, this preposition placed in the name is often used as a symbol of nobility, especially in Germany.

And Heimlein von Liszt is from Germany.

Of course, it does not mean that having Feng in his name is a nobleman. No one knows whether this Airbus CEO has German noble blood.

Heimlein Liszt is casual by nature, rarely wears formal clothes, and rarely stays in the office and wanders around all day.

However, because of his casual personality and uninhibited behavior, it is a big mistake to think that he is very easy to get along with.

When Heimlein List was the president of the German Airbus division, he was known as the "butcher".He can be extremely harsh when it comes to work matters, and shows no mercy as long as his subordinates do not perform his tasks perfectly.

In fact, even if Ronnie Covein has no background, fortunately, he has made great contributions to Airbus.On the issue of A380, some decision-makers tended to give Ronnie Covein another chance. In the end, Heimlein Liszt insisted on punishing Ronnie Covein.

Facing this smiling devil, no matter how angry Ronnie Covein was, he could only hold back and even greeted him with a smile.

In comparison, Neo Otto's reaction was much flatter.This is the difference between having a background and not having a background.

"Neo, this is the first time I know that you have a good personal relationship with Ronnie." Heimlein List smiled.

Neo Otto nodded slightly, as a greeting: "I am also responsible for the A380 matter, so I naturally want to resolve the matter with Ronnie."

"No, the A380 matter has nothing to do with you." Heimlein Liszt laughed: "Ronnie is indeed right about the replacement of the A330. Once we make a mistake in the aviation hub plan, then It will be disastrous, so it is necessary for us to start the research and development of a twin-engine wide-body aircraft as soon as possible."

"But our money is already tight, too much money has been put into the A380 program, and we have to think about compensation in the event that the lawsuit loses."

In fact, Airbus can also refuse to execute the judgment at a critical moment, but it will have a lot of impact on the company's image.If he really loses the case, Neo Otto feels that he needs to pay compensation, even if the amount is huge.

In such a predicament, Airbus really has no money to start research on a new model.

Even with the most conservative estimate, 100 billion US dollars is needed. This is too exaggerated, and it cannot be achieved by touching the upper and lower lips.

"Didn't Nicholas Halliway look for you? He is willing to provide 120 billion US dollars of financial support." Heimlein Liszt said with a light smile: "It's not just right to use his money to complete the research on our new twin-engine wide-body machine ?"

"However, he will get [-]% of the total profit of the new model." Neo Otto said.

"It's not something we can choose now. Whether we can make money on the new model is not that important. The key is to carry the Boeing 787."

Heimlein Liszt's idea is very simple. Airbus may not make money, but it is also acceptable to bring Boeing without making money. This is acceptable.

Neo Otto could understand what Heimlein Liszt meant, but there was a more important question: "Mr. Liszt, is the identity of that Nicholas Halliway worthy of trust? Never heard of it either."

"Shengming Fund. I haven't heard of it either, but Nicholas Halliway can be trusted."

"Why?" Neo Otto frowned, "You know him?"

"You are too young, and it is normal for some people from the old era not to know each other." Heimlein List laughed and said, "Nicholas Halliway was once the president of JP Morgan Chase. Do you think his identity is enough?"

On the hillside next to the Chunxia Aviation Base, Xu Cang used to sit here when he was thinking about it.There is a big rock on the hillside, Xu Cang likes to sit on it.

This hillside faces Cangshan Mountain in Erhai Lake, and there will always be strong winds blowing, which is very comfortable.

Regarding Qin Yi's ending, Xu Cang has some ideas, and this idea is not very good.

Xu Cang didn't know how to stop some things. If Qin Yi went to Africa for his fiancée and both died in the end, then there should be no way to change this ending.

As Qin Xin said, Qin Yi is cold outside and hot inside. If he decides on a person, he will give in recklessly. It is really impossible for him to ignore his fiancée.

"Damn it, there's no one to worry about."

Xu Cang sighed, he could be cruel to Qin Yi, but if Qin Xin was implicated, Xu Cang's heart would be in a mess.

In his guess, the time of Qin Yi's accident in the previous life should have been delayed a lot.Moreover, so many arrangements were made that Qin Xin didn't realize that her brother was dead for a long time.

In other words, in this life, he used some means to hide everything from Qin Xin, so that Qin Yi could do his own thing quietly.

But there is no impenetrable wall in the world, if Qin Xin finds out in the future, she might hate herself.

Every family has scriptures that are difficult to recite, Xu Cang finally understood the meaning of these words.

Suddenly, Xu Cang felt something, and looked back, but saw Lu Jinghua running towards here not far away, looking very anxious.

When he got close, Xu Cang looked at Lu Jinghua's panting appearance, and couldn't help being a little strange: "What happened?"

Lu Jinghua's face was quite ugly: "Xu Cang, just now, a 737 of our company collided with a 320 of Chengdu Airlines on the apron."

(End of this chapter)