Legendary Captain

Chapter 210 Chief Pilot VS Chief Engineer (Thanks to OS for the generous donation!)

As is widely known, Qin Zongyang and Lu Xinyu are of the same rank, but in practice, Lu Xinyu is actually slightly higher than Qin Zongyang. This is because Lu Xinyu has more influence in the professional field of aviation, while Qin Zongyang only has some authority in non-professional administrative matters.

Not long after Lu Xinyu was promoted to deputy general manager of the flight department, he did not have any particular advantage over Qin Zongyang, until he began to concurrently serve as chief pilot.

In fact, the chief pilot's direct superior is the deputy general manager of the flight department. Although this position may not seem particularly high-ranking, it is a very important one.

Internally, the chief pilot is responsible for assisting in the establishment and improvement of flight system business processes, guiding the formulation of training and flight plans, guiding flight training and mission implementation, and participating in the investigation of flight accident symptoms, flight errors, and other unsafe incidents. Externally, they are also responsible for liaising with civil aviation authorities and maintaining relationships.

In the technical aspects of the flight system, the chief pilot is the first person to be involved.

The position of deputy general manager of the flight department was originally more administrative, but Lu Xinyu, who also served as chief pilot, firmly grasped all the power in the flight department related to professional fields after the general manager of the flight department, Lin Bo, had already semi-retired. All that was left for Qin Zongyang were some trivial administrative tasks.

Therefore, removing Lu Xinyu from his position as chief pilot would be tantamount to cutting off his right-hand man.

In principle, it is rare for the deputy general manager of the flight department to also serve as the chief pilot, since the superior and subordinate are the same person, which can easily breed corruption.

However, during the time Wen Jingshu was with Xingyou Airlines, she valued Lu Xinyu's abilities, which is why she tacitly allowed this situation to occur.

Compared to the administrative position of Deputy General Manager of the Flight Department, the Chief Pilot is more of a technical position, and therefore is subject to the constraints of the Flight Technical Committee.

The chief pilot is nominated by the Flight Technical Committee, which can also remove him/her under certain special circumstances. Of course, the final decision on dismissal still requires the signature of the Vice President of Operations in charge of flight operations to be finalized.

However, the final signature of the Vice President of Operations is largely a formality. Generally, the Vice President of Operations will sign off on any removal decision made by the Flight Technical Committee.

The Flight Technical Committee, which brings together all licensed flight instructors in the company, is an organization with a complex web of relationships.

All matters concerning pilot promotions, technical evaluations, and so on, must be discussed and decided by the Flight Technical Committee, which wields considerable power.

Lin Bo, general manager of the flight department, Qin Zongyang and Lu Xinyu, deputy general managers, Cao Jinwen, squadron leader, and several senior instructors, inspectors, and representatives appointed by the bureau are all permanent members of the Flight Technology Committee.

In addition to the permanent members, there are also some non-permanent members whose positions have changed. They are all flight instructors who have not had any safety incidents in the past two years and whose performance evaluation scores are among the best.

They take turns serving as committee members on a quarterly basis.

The Flight Technology Committee consists of permanent and non-permanent members, as well as a rotating chairperson.

The Flight Technical Committee meets weekly, but these are small-scale meetings primarily dealing with issues such as pilot promotions. Discussing the dismissal of the chief pilot is not something that can be decided in a casual meeting. A technical committee meeting requiring at least two-thirds of the members is meaningful; otherwise, any resolutions reached are irregular and the deputy chief of operations will not sign them.

A technical committee meeting that gathers more than two-thirds of its members can usually only be held at the regular plenary meeting at the end of the year, but Qin Zongyang couldn't wait any longer. Therefore, he wanted to convene an extraordinary meeting.

With the consent of at least half of the standing committee members, a plenary session can be convened. A plenary session of this scale and level is perfectly adequate for handling the removal of the chief pilot from his post.

"Damn it! Qin Zongyang! Have you lost your mind? The Flight Department is dismissing the Chief Pilot? Do you want to make Xingyou Flight Department a laughing stock in the civil aviation industry?" Since Qin Zongyang's attack, Lu Xinyu had maintained a calm and collected demeanor, showing no sign of panic. But when he heard that Qin Zongyang was going to convene an emergency technical committee meeting to discuss dismissing him from his position as Chief Pilot, Lu Xinyu truly panicked.

In principle, the Flight Technical Committee can dismiss a chief pilot if it determines that the chief pilot is unable to fulfill his or her job responsibilities. However, in reality, this has never happened.

The chief pilot, as the top person in the flight technology system, is the face of an airline's flight department, and is himself nominated by the flight technology committee.

Now that you've nominated the people yourself, you want to dismiss them. Isn't that like slapping yourself in the face?

In the history of civil aviation, if a chief pilot has a major problem during his tenure, he or she has always resigned on his own initiative. There has never been a precedent of him being forcibly removed by the Flight Technical Committee.

This is unprecedented in the history of Xingyou Aviation, and even in the broader history of domestic civil aviation.

If Qin Zongyang were to actually convene the Flight Technology Committee, regardless of the outcome, even just conducting a job suitability investigation would be enough for Lu Xinyu to make a name for himself in civil aviation history.

The first chief pilot in China to be investigated by his own flight technology committee!

No matter how high he rises in the future, this stain will never be washed away.

He, Lu Xinyu, will become a laughing stock in the entire civil aviation industry!

Of course, Qin Zongyang's actions also smack of airing his dirty laundry in public, and those high-ranking leaders would definitely not let him off the hook. In fact, if this were to happen, neither Lu Xinyu nor he would fare well.

Basically, if he were to actually convene the Flight Technology Committee, it would mean he could forget about ever climbing the ranks again.

Although Qin Zongyang was extremely ambitious for officialdom, the Zhang Chen incident had crossed his bottom line. Even if it meant giving up his future career, he was determined to drag Lu Xinyu down with him.

Facing Lu Xinyu, who was on the verge of exploding in rage, Qin Zongyang smiled coldly: "It would be a joke if someone like you sat in the position of chief pilot."

"You're using this to settle personal scores! You dare to use this to settle personal scores?" Lu Xinyu's heart pounded wildly. Qin Zongyang's expression seemed genuinely serious; he really wanted to kill him.

Most importantly, Qin Zongyang's words were not entirely without feasibility. Among the standing members of the Flight Technology Committee, there were many who had personal relationships with Qin Zongyang. Qin Zongyang not only made such outrageous statements, but also had the ability to make them a reality, which was what Lu Xinyu feared most.

Qin Zongyang had now abandoned all his reservations and was determined to fight Lu Xinyu to the death.

He stood tall, like a sharp sword: "An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth! Since you dared to prevent Zhang Chen from becoming a captain for life, I dare to make sure you can't establish yourself in the civil aviation industry for the rest of your life! Lu Xinyu, do you really think I'm made of clay?"

Lu Xinyu was visibly shaken. He sensed Qin Zongyang's unwavering resolve; it seemed today was a fight to the death. Previously, in his mind, Qin Zongyang was just a cunning old fox, and he had never truly taken him seriously.

But now, this old man, whom he had never treated as an equal, was about to deliver a fatal blow to him.

"Zhang Chen? Zhang Chen is also cooperating with me?" Lu Xinyu's eyes were bloodshot, clearly on the verge of exploding: "Qin Zongyang, stop pretending to be noble with me! How are you any different from me? Let's not talk about who's who!"

Lu Xinyu was determined to climb the ranks, but wasn't Qin Zongyang also ambitious? Lu Xinyu felt that Qin Zongyang was just putting on an act this time, trying to use Zhang Chen's matter to bring down Lu Xinyu, so that he would have no rivals on his path to becoming the general manager of the flight department.

However, Lu Xinyu's words only fueled Qin Zongyang's anger: "Lu Xinyu, you heartless bastard, you dare to compare yourself to Zhang Chen? You dare to compare yourself to me?"

Yes, Qin Zongyang's ambition for power was extraordinary, but he had a bottom line, even if it wasn't high. At least he had some humanity. Lu Xinyu, however, was different. He would stop at nothing to climb the ladder, showing no mercy to the weak and behaving like a complete inhuman being.

"You're the one who automatically demotes a co-pilot if they fail the proficiency check? Ask around, which other airline has this kind of rule? Are co-pilot skill levels just paper? You can demote them whenever you want? If that's the case, what's the point of having skill levels?!" Qin Zongyang pointed at Lu Xinyu and cursed, "Even Letu Airlines, which was ranked last among airlines last year, doesn't treat its co-pilots like this. Aren't our company's co-pilots human beings? Why should we treat them like this?"

The regulatory authorities rank airlines annually, with those experiencing more safety incidents ranking lower. Lower-ranked airlines face penalties such as flight reductions, making them extremely concerned about safety incidents each year.

It's understandable that some lower-ranked airlines have excessively high requirements for their pilots, since reducing flights would hurt everyone. However, Star Travel Airlines isn't ranked low, yet its flight department still employs extremely high-pressure policies towards its co-pilots, making their lives miserable.

Why did the Flight Department do this? Wasn't it just to show the Bureau and the leaders?

Look at our Star Travel Airlines. Although the safety situation is good, we still strictly discipline ourselves and maintain a high level of safety awareness at all times. What a high level of awareness that is!

What Qin Zongyang found most offensive was that the flight department, under Lu Xinyu's leadership, showed absolutely no respect for the co-pilot's technical level.

The co-pilot's skill level is accumulated hour by hour, landing by landing, which represents the co-pilot's hard work and dedication.

Although co-pilots are subordinate within the flight crew, they still deserve respect. If the company doesn't treat co-pilots like human beings, why should they dedicate themselves to serving the company wholeheartedly?

However, the flight department now conducts all sorts of assessments, frequently demoting co-pilots' technical ranks, making it seem like the technical ranks for co-pilots are practically meaningless. The most outrageous case involves a co-pilot being demoted a rank simply for not wearing the correct uniform.

Constantly applying intense pressure to the passenger seat can cause problems. The passenger is a person too; if the pressure is too great, the string might snap, which would be extremely dangerous.

Today, Qin Zongyang's sudden attack on Lu Xinyu was definitely caused by Zhang Chen, but Zhang Chen's extreme disapproval of Lu Xinyu's actions was also a contributing factor.

Upon hearing Qin Zongyang's words, all the co-pilots present stopped laughing; his words struck a chord with them.

Lu Xinyu sensed the eerie silence in the room, his eyelids twitching uncontrollably, but he still refused to admit it: "It's like rowing against the current; if you don't move forward, you fall behind, don't you know? I'm urging them on every single moment! Ask them if anyone has any objections to my methods!"

Lu Xinyu spread his arms wide, facing all the passengers in the passenger seats: "Does anyone have a problem with this?"

Many of the co-pilots present harbored resentment, but in this setting, they dared not speak out openly. The one who stood out would easily become a scapegoat, and they had too many concerns.

No one in the audience could answer, so Lu Xinyu smiled smugly: "See, none of them have any objections, so what are you yelling about?"

"I have!"

Lu Xinyu's smugness lasted only a few seconds before a firm shout shattered the deathly silence in the arena.

Lu Xinyu felt as if his heart had been violently clenched. He instinctively turned his head to look in the direction of the sound. At that moment, not only Lu Xinyu, but also Qin Zongyang and everyone present turned to look at the source of the sound.

Xu Xian, who had been hiding in the back row of the venue, slowly stood up and looked directly at Lu Xinyu: "I have a problem with that!"

Qin Zongyang tensed up and shouted sternly, "Xu Xian, this has nothing to do with you, sit down!"

Qin Zongyang was attacking Lu Xinyu with a "scorched earth" mentality. If Xu Xian got involved, he would definitely not get away with it. Qin Zongyang absolutely did not want Xu Xian to show his face.

"Master, I'm speaking up for our company's co-pilot, so why is it okay?" Xu Xian didn't accept Qin Zongyang's advice. At this moment, Xu Xian wasn't representing Qin Zongyang's apprentice, but rather the co-pilot of Xingyou Airlines; he was speaking up for Xingyou Airlines' co-pilots.

"You two are in cahoots, birds of a feather!" Lu Xinyu laughed in anger. "You two, master and disciple, are really good at playing along!"

"Say what you want!" Xu Xian wasn't afraid of Lu Xinyu and bluntly said, "Every time we fly four days and rest two, or three days and rest two, the two rest days in between are often used to hold a study session, a mobilization meeting, or a seminar, isn't that right? The Bureau has repeatedly emphasized that no work should be arranged during the rest period, does the Flight Department not care about the regulations?"

The four-fly-two-rest or three-fly-two-rest schedule for pilots is a relatively common scheduling method, not an ironclad rule. The "two" refers to the two-day rest period, which is often referred to in the industry as the "48-hour rest period." However, the flight department frequently schedules all sorts of meetings within this 48-hour period, some of which have nothing to do with the pilots.

Lu Xinyu took a deep breath, suppressing his anger: "Study sessions are work? They're a means to improve your skills! Mobilization meetings are work? They're to motivate you! Seminars are work? Then you solve your practical problems! The company goes to great lengths to organize all sorts of meetings for you out of concern for its employees!"

"Caring for employees." Some of the co-pilots in the audience couldn't stand this hypocritical talk and chuckled quietly, their tone full of sarcasm.

Because the venue was relatively quiet at the time, these sarcastic remarks were extremely clear and reached Lu Xinyu's ears without missing a single word, causing Lu Xinyu to frown.

Some meetings about new regulations or new flight methods are genuinely useful and it's fine to attend, but forcing pilots to attend meetings that are clearly just about listening to officials spouting bureaucratic jargon and platitudes is utterly disgusting. And if they don't attend, they face penalties.

What's most annoying is that the lists of those forced to attend those useless meetings rarely include leaders or senior instructors; they're mostly just co-pilots.

The co-pilots weren't stupid; they basically knew what was going on, but they didn't say anything because of authority. Everyone had a lot of resentment bottled up inside.

Seeing the unusual emotions of the co-pilots, Lu Xinyu realized that what he had just said might have been too outrageous. Those co-pilots were all in their mid-twenties, with independent thinking, and capable of distinguishing right from wrong. Expecting them to listen to or believe anything was indeed difficult.

Then, changing the subject, she began to complain: "We may have had too many meetings lately, but there's nothing we can do about it. The company's capacity is insufficient right now. If we include some meetings in the rest period, we won't have enough manpower. After this period, I will order the flight department to make corrections. There's really nothing we can do about it. Other companies are doing the same thing; it's not like Star Travel is targeting us specifically."

Lu Xinyu knew that if he continued to stubbornly insist on his position, he would likely face dire consequences, so he simply gave in and admitted the situation. However, he inadvertently dragged other companies into the mess.

The implication is that since everyone does it this way, you should just accept it.

But Xu Xian immediately refuted his words: "Qingyuan Group's Lantian Airlines and Xingfei Airlines are not like that! Both Lantian Airlines and Xingfei Airlines have twice as many routes as us, but only slightly more than 40% more pilots. However, when they schedule pilot meetings, they always consider rest periods. If there are any unavailable slots, participation is voluntary; they are never forced. There are many black crows in the world."

Xu Xian knew Qingyuan Group's situation like the back of his hand. If we're talking about a shortage of transport capacity, then Blue Sky Airlines and Xingfei Airlines were even more lacking than Xingyou Airlines, but they just followed the rules.

Xu Xian originally didn't want to be so blunt, but seeing Lu Xinyu's stubborn attitude, he really couldn't help but speak up.

Xu Xianlai has been with Xingyou Airlines for some time now and has some understanding of the company's situation.

If Star Trek Airlines offered significantly higher salaries than other airlines, the co-pilots would probably have tolerated it for the money. But Star Trek Airlines' salaries weren't high enough for the co-pilots to accept! As a result, a whole host of problems arose, leaving everyone resentful.

"You're slandering me!" Lu Xinyu was furious at being humiliated on the spot, pointing at Qin Zongyang: "You two, master and apprentice, are putting on a show! I don't believe anyone in the company will believe you!"

Just as Lu Xinyu finished speaking, a young man walked in from the entrance of the venue, a slight smile on his face: "I believe you!"

Lu Xinyu was taken aback, turned her head, and a hint of surprise appeared on her face: "Qi Fengyang?"

As soon as Qi Fengyang entered, the ground administration staff from the flight department around Lu Xinyu greeted him politely, "President Qi!"

Qi Fengyang! Chief Engineer of the Maintenance Engineering Department, apprentice of Xingyou Aviation's Vice President of Maintenance, sole designated successor, and the crown prince of the maintenance system.

Star Travel's two main pillars are its operations system and its maintenance system.

The Vice President of Operations oversees the operations systems, namely the flight systems and operations control systems. The Vice President of Maintenance oversees the maintenance systems, which include five areas: quality, production, engineering, training, and materials support.

Qi Fengyang's position as chief engineer in the maintenance engineering department was equivalent to that of chief pilot in the flight department.

Although Qi Fengyang's position was slightly lower than Lu Xinyu's—Lu Xinyu held the position of Deputy General Manager of the Flight Department—their future prospects were worlds apart.

It's already quite good that Lu Xinyu was able to become the general manager of the flight department; it would be difficult for him to rise to the position of vice president of operations.

Qi Fengyang, however, is different. Barring any unforeseen circumstances, the position of the next Vice President of Maintenance is practically in his favor. As the youngest chief engineer in the entire history of civil aviation, he has an absolutely promising future.

"Qi Fengyang, what are you, from the Maintenance Engineering Department, doing getting involved in our Flight Department's meeting?" Even though Lu Xinyu was extremely displeased, he still didn't dare to show too much hostility towards Qi Fengyang, after all, Qi Fengyang's potential was much higher than his.

"Can't I just watch the show? Isn't President Lu welcome?" Qi Fengyang looked very young; judging from his appearance alone, he might not even be thirty yet. It was simply unbelievable that he could become the chief engineer before he was even thirty.

Lu Xinyu's forehead veins bulged. He had already lost a lot of face in the flight department today. Did he have to lose face again in the maintenance engineering department?

"President Qi, our flight department isn't a stage for a play. If you want to watch a show, go watch it somewhere else!" Lu Xinyu suppressed his anger. Reason told him that he couldn't afford to fall out with Qi Fengyang now, or he would be in a very passive position. But Qi Fengyang had inexplicably come to cause trouble, and he was just enduring it, which was a real test of his composure.

In fact, not only Lu Xinyu, but also Qin Zongyang and everyone present, including Xu Xian, had no idea why Qi Fengyang had come to join the fun. Today's events had absolutely nothing to do with the Maintenance Engineering Department, so why was Qi Fengyang here?

Qi Fengyang took two steps forward, approaching Lu Xinyu. Lu Xinyu was already quite tall, but Qi Fengyang was even taller. When the two stood together, Qi Fengyang was actually looking down at Lu Xinyu.

"Xu Xian offended you earlier, are you holding a grudge? Are you thinking about how to deal with him later?" Qi Fengyang suddenly smiled, looking like a friendly older brother next door.

A hint of confusion flashed across Lu Xinyu's face: "What do you mean?"

Not to mention Lu Xinyu, even Xu Xian, who was directly involved, had no idea what was going on. He didn't know this Qi Fengyang at all.

"What do I mean?" Qi Fengyang smiled. "Xu Xian is useful to me, so you can't touch him!"

Lu Xinyu's lips twitched: "President Qi, Xu Xian is from the Flight Department, not your Maintenance Engineering Department. Aren't you overstepping your bounds by speaking like that?"

The chief engineer of the maintenance engineering department threatened the chief pilot of the flight department in front of a group of pilots. This was an unprecedented spectacle, and even Qin Zongyang was stunned.

Qi Fengyang suddenly lowered his voice: "Lu Xinyu, do you mean you want my master to talk to President Luo about your situation?"

Lu Xinyu's breath caught in her throat for a moment. Qi Fengyang's mentor was the company's Vice President of Maintenance, while President Luo was Luo Qing, the Vice President of Operations; the two had always been very close.

Although Luo Qing is nominally the highest-ranking person in charge of the flight system, he rarely directly intervenes in specific matters. However, if Qi Fengyang were to instill negative things about himself in Luo Qing, the vice president of operations, through his mentor, it would have disastrous consequences.

Seeing Lu Xinyu's shocked expression, Qi Fengyang suddenly leaned closer to Lu Xinyu and whispered, "If you find Xu Xian an eyesore, giving him to our maintenance engineering department isn't out of the question!"

happy New Year to all!

(End of this chapter)