Legendary Captain

Chapter 151 The Crew Gets Extorted

"Huh? Master, you have shifts today? No, I don't think so." Xu Xian and Qin Zongyang unexpectedly met at the entrance of the flight preparation room. Xu Xian glanced at Qin Zongyang with some suspicion, as he clearly remembered that Qin Zongyang should not have had any shifts for the past few days.

Qin Zongyang glanced at Xu Xian sideways and said sarcastically, "Wang Lingkun... he wasn't feeling well, so he asked me to fly for him."

Qin Zongyang was originally going to say something about that old bastard Wang Lingkun, but when he got to the point, he felt that it would be beneath his dignity to say such a thing, so he swallowed it back.

Actually, Qin Zongyang was overthinking things. He had long since completely lost his former identity. Although he had toned down his temper recently, he was still seen as a bandit in everyone's eyes. Dwelling on past verbal transgressions was really unnecessary for Qin Zongyang.

"Instructor Wang, are you asking me for help? Is that even possible? You can examine me? Don't you need to avoid suspicion?" Xu Xian asked, somewhat puzzled.

Although Xu Xian was only a student, he had followed Xu Qing for a period of time and knew all the unwritten rules in the industry. Xu Xian also knew that it was inconvenient for a master to inspect his apprentice.

If this gets out, people will gossip about it.

"Of course I would! I'd definitely like to avoid suspicion if I could! But our Instructor Wang is begging me with tears in his eyes, I can't just ignore him! I'm a soft-hearted person, and I can't stand seeing people cry. Look, Instructor Wang is almost retired, and he's clinging to my leg and crying his heart out! If I don't agree, won't Instructor Wang faint on the spot? Xu Xian! We must respect the elderly and care for the young, and be willing to help others; these virtues cannot be lost." Even though outsiders might not think Qin Zongyang is a good person, he still wanted to maintain a certain image in front of his apprentice. So he raised his voice, closed his eyes, and just made up whatever came to mind. Anyway, Wang Lingkun wasn't there, so what was wrong with him making things up?

Xu Xian's lips twitched: "Instructor Wang was crying and begging you? Really?"

Just imagining that scene made Xu Xian feel extremely uneasy.

"Really! Your eyes are almost blind from crying. If you keep crying like this, someone will die!" Qin Zongyang quickly pushed Xu Xian into the flight preparation room, trying to end the topic at the same time, because if they continued, things would get out of control.

Xu Xian was pushed by Qin Zongyang all the way to the breathalyzer. Seeing that it was still early, Qin Zongyang said to Xu Xian, "You sign in first, get your materials and get ready! I'll go get a cup of hot water!"

Xu Xian nodded, said goodbye to Qin Zongyang, took a breathalyzer test, and then turned to go to the dispatch desk to get the flight information, but he found that there were already people in front of the information desk.

"Changed? When?" The first officer frowned as he looked at the name on the mission report. He remembered that the captain of this flight should have been Instructor Wang Lingkun! He took out his phone and checked the electronic mission report, where the captain had changed to Qin Zongyang.

The dispatcher shrugged: "Anyway, it wasn't changed at the last minute before the flight. It was exactly like this when I released it!"

If the captain selection were changed at the last minute, the dispatcher should have been notified. However, when the flight was being cleared, the dispatcher discovered that Qin Zongyang was the captain, and no further changes were made. This indicates that the captain selection change had occurred some time ago, rather than being temporary.

"The captain was changed last night?" He checked the flight schedule yesterday afternoon, and the captain was still Wang Lingkun.

Just as the first co-pilot was wondering what was going on, Xu Xian poked his head out from the side: "Hello! Are you on flight 6881?"

The first passenger turned to Xu Xian, following the sound, and nodded: "Yes! Together?"

"Hello! I'm the second first officer on flight 6881, hello bro!" Xu Xian greeted the first first officer quite politely.

"Oh! So today is your promotion route inspection?" the first officer replied. The mission log noted that this flight was a promotion route inspection for Xu Xian, the first officer. The first officer paused. "I remember the original inspector was Instructor Wang Lingkun, why is it General Manager Qin now?"

"Instructor Wang wasn't feeling well, so my master took over." Xu Xian was naive enough to believe Qin Zongyang's nonsense.

The first passenger was taken aback: "Is President Qin your mentor? Then how could he do this when he was inspecting you?"

The first co-pilot was clearly aware of the rules and was quite surprised by Qin Zongyang's behavior.

Xu Xian scratched the back of his head somewhat embarrassedly: "It must be a coincidence, but the only reason I couldn't find a suitable person was because my master happened to have time."

To be honest, Xu Xian was a little embarrassed by his master's inspection.

"Oh, maybe!" The first co-pilot couldn't very well judge Qin Zongyang's behavior in front of Xu Xian.

Now that he understood the situation, he had nothing to worry about anymore. His previous doubts stemmed from the fear that the mission manual might be faulty, but now that the situation was clear, it was no longer a problem.

The two took the flight information and casually found a table to sit down. After a while, Qin Zongyang poured some water and slowly went to take a breathalyzer test before coming over to Xu Xian and the other man.

Qin Zongyang put his water glass aside, yawned, raised his eyelids slightly, and glanced at the first passenger seat: "Keep your mouth shut!"

Xu Xian hadn't yet grasped the meaning behind Qin Zongyang's sudden murderous words, but the first co-pilot was quite astute and quickly assured him, "President Qin, I definitely won't tell anyone about this inspection."

Qin Zongyang was quite satisfied with the obedient first passenger, a smile appearing on his face: "The young man is quite sensible!"

Xu Xian then realized that Qin Zongyang wanted the first co-pilot to keep the flight path inspection a secret and not to spread it around. Although Qin Zongyang was thick-skinned and didn't care about the rules of a master inspecting his apprentice, it was always better if fewer people knew about this.

"The company just called me. Gate 1 is under construction and closed. Gate 2 is currently congested with many flights, so the company told us to go through the terminal building," Qin Zongyang said. "Make sure you know your gates so you don't waste time looking for them later."

Although Yunnan Airport uses internal security checkpoints, it doesn't mean you can't use the terminal building. According to crew members at checkpoint 2, it's already overcrowded; going through security at the internal checkpoint 2 is less efficient than using the terminal building. After all, the terminal building has a dedicated crew lane, so you don't have to queue like other passengers.

The reason Qin Zongyang asked Xu Xian and the others to find the gate number in advance was because many airports have different gate numbers than gate numbers, although some have the same number.

Since flight crews typically walk on the apron, they usually use the gate number to identify the aircraft's location. However, if they walk through the terminal, they need to go to the boarding gate, which requires the gate number to determine the aircraft's location.

The Star Travel flight assistant software usually displays the aircraft's gate number, but not necessarily the boarding gate number. If it's not there, you'll need to use other methods.

Of course, you can check the flight information board in the terminal, but that's too time-consuming. If the flight crew is leaving from the terminal, they usually figure out which gate to use beforehand.

"Master, is there anything else?" Xu Xian asked. He wanted to clarify the issues together and resolve them at the same time.

Qin Zongyang leaned against the table, leisurely sipping his tea: "That's all, you guys go ahead with your work!"

When the crew arrived, the vehicle transported them from the company base all the way to the departure level of the terminal.

After all, it's relatively rare to see flight crews in the terminal, so Xu Xian and his group attracted quite a bit of attention when they went in.

The crew obviously didn't need to check in, so they planned to go directly through the check-in counter area to the security check area. However, as the crew walked through the bustling check-in area, Xu Xian noticed that a group of elderly people talking to the check-in staff seemed to have noticed them and suddenly came over aggressively.

When the elderly men and women approached the flight crew, perhaps intimidated by Qin Zongyang's imposing presence, they didn't speak to him. Instead, they chose Xu Xian, who looked quite young, and was slightly behind them.

One of the older women cut in front of Xu Xian, blocking his way.

The woman's gaze shifted downwards and fell upon the boarding pass hanging around Xu Xian's neck. At the bottom of Xu Xian's boarding pass was written the name of Nanming Province, Dianyun City, Xingyou Aviation Co., Ltd.

The woman's eyes lit up: "From Xingyou?"

Xu Xian was puzzled, but nodded nonetheless: "Yes! What's wrong?"

"We're having trouble with our tickets, you have to help us!" Without saying a word, the woman grabbed Xu Xian's left arm, preventing him from leaving.

"Auntie! I have something to do. You could try asking at our company's information desk!" Xu Xian took a step forward, but the older woman's hand was very strong, gripping Xu Xian tightly and preventing him from moving. Xu Xian didn't dare to use too much force, afraid of hurting the woman, and for a moment, they were locked in a stalemate.

Seeing that she had stopped Xu Xian, the older woman immediately seized the opportunity: "Young man, why does your company charge extra for shipping? My plane ticket only cost five or six hundred, but the extra shipping fee is four hundred, which is almost more expensive than the ticket price."

Xu Xian was somewhat aware of this situation. It was a common practice in the low-to-mid-end market, and almost all low-cost airlines did it this way.

The low ticket price comes at the cost of free baggage allowance and in-flight meals. Most budget airlines have limits on free baggage allowances, and extra fees are charged for overweight baggage, which are not cheap. Furthermore, budget airlines generally do not provide in-flight meals, mostly only offering bottled water.

This is a trade-off. Enjoying low fares inevitably means sacrificing some services. This practice is nothing new; even major low-cost carriers like Blue Sky Airlines and Kunlong Airlines follow this route. And it's been in place for quite some time, making it a fairly mature sales model. Frankly, anyone who flies even a little bit these days should know about this.

Even though it was an old story, Xu Xian patiently explained quickly, "Auntie, this is how cheap tickets are. When you buy a ticket, there should be regulations regarding baggage allowance. If you exceed the allowance, you will have to pay extra."

"But when I bought plane tickets from other airlines before, I never heard of having to pay extra for checked baggage!" the woman insisted.

Non-low-cost carriers generally offer ample baggage allowances, rarely resulting in overweight or oversized luggage. Low-cost carriers, however, have much stricter baggage regulations. They have requirements not only on weight but also on size. This means that even if your luggage isn't overweight, if it's too large or exceeds size limits, it won't be eligible for free check-in.

Therefore, when flying with budget airlines, it's easy to end up with oversized or overweight luggage if you're not careful, which is what you lose for the low price.

Xu Xian was momentarily speechless. The sales philosophy of low-cost carriers is essentially to retain only the transport function of an airplane, treating it like a slightly more luxurious public bus. Many additional services will inevitably be reduced. You get what you pay for; truly cheap and high-quality services are rare. Wanting cheap tickets and all the services included is really difficult!

At this moment, Qin Zongyang, who was in front, noticed Xu Xian, who was lagging behind, so he turned back and asked, "What's wrong?"

"They have questions about the company's baggage policy," Xu Xian said.

"Baggage rules? Overweight? What era are we living in? People are still arguing about this?" Qin Zongyang looked at the elderly folks with obvious displeasure, then pointed to the Star Travel Airlines information desk not far away: "Go ask over there, we have other things to do!"

After saying that, he told Xu Xian to leave quickly, otherwise the company would hold him accountable if he was late for the flight.

Xu Xian was worried that if he delayed any longer, he would be late for the flight and would be fined. However, just as Xu Xian was about to leave, the older woman held onto his arm tightly and wouldn't let go, shouting, "If I had known your company was this unscrupulous, I wouldn't have bought your ticket. Now that we're about to take off, you're asking me for money? What kind of nonsense is this?"

Xu Xian said helplessly, "Auntie, it's no use telling me! I'm flying, not buying tickets! Telling me won't help you!"

Xu Xian was really exasperated by this unreasonable person. Besides, the terminal was full of people, and Xu Xian couldn't afford to lose his temper in public.

Just as Xu Xian was being extorted by the old lady, he realized the situation was getting out of control and had to take a hard line, otherwise things would go on and they wouldn't be able to fly today.

Just as Xu Xian was about to use some force, Qin Zongyang returned, grabbed the woman's wrist, and shook her off: "If you lay a hand on me again, I'll go to the airport police station!"

Qin Zongyang was not known for his good temper; his large, copper-bell-shaped eyes were quite intimidating when he glared at someone.

Seeing the older woman intimidated by Qin Zongyang's imposing manner, Xu Xian quickly prepared to slip away while she was momentarily stunned. However, after only a few steps, he heard the woman's wailing behind him: "Xingyou Airlines is blatantly bullying its customers! The pilot even threatened us! They're lawless!"

The woman's voice was quite loud; for a moment, it could be heard throughout half of the departure hall. Instantly, many people gathered around Xu Xian, and the flight crew became the focus of everyone's attention!

(End of this chapter)