Legendary Captain

Chapter 357 International Evacuation Operations

On the Xingyou flight from Chengdu to Changfeng, after nearly two hours of waiting, the plane finally took off. Xu Xian had bought an economy class ticket, and after entering cruising mode, he was just about to close his eyes to rest when he was woken up by the flight attendant.

"Mr. Xu, the captain wants you to go to first class." Xu Xian, already somewhat drowsy, squinted and looked around. It seemed that most of the people around him were asleep. After the commotion earlier, many people were exhausted and had fallen asleep before even entering cruising mode.

Xu Xian clicked his tongue and stood up: "Let's go."

He had initially worried that if the more agitated passengers found out about his upgrade, they might cause further trouble. However, it seemed they were too exhausted to cause any more problems and were all sound asleep.

He whispered to the flight attendant, then quietly got up and followed her to the front.

This plane doesn't have a business class; instead, it's divided into first class and economy class. You go past the curtain at the very front of the economy class aisle, and that's where the first class is.

As soon as he entered first class, the entire space brightened up. The economy class lights had been dim since takeoff, so the sudden change to brightness made Xu Xian quite uncomfortable, and he squinted.

Several seconds passed before Xu Xian's eyes gradually adjusted to the light. He slowly opened his eyes and was met with an empty first-class area.

"Nobody here?" Xu Xian was quite surprised. Looking out, he saw that there was not a single person in the first-class cabin.

Although first class usually doesn't have a high occupancy rate due to its price, it's quite rare to see a cabin completely empty.

"Perfect, no one's around!" Xu Xian liked peace and quiet, and no one was bothering him. Just as he was about to find a place to sit down, a head suddenly popped out from the first row of first class, startling Xu Xian.

When Xu Xian finally saw the person clearly, he breathed a sigh of relief: "Hey instructor, can you make a sound? Can you stop with all this weird stuff, sticking half your head out in my direction? It's terrifying!"

In those horror movies, there are often scenes where a head creeps out from somewhere. Xu Xian couldn't stand those supernatural things and was easily frightened, so he was quite annoyed.

Who else could be in the first row of first class? It's none other than Instructor Wang Lingkun.

"If the lights were dim or bright, and you said I scared you, I'd just pretend I didn't. But it's so bright around here, and I'm just peeking out, are you as timid as a pinhead?" Wang Lingkun beckoned to Xu Xian: "Come sit down."

Despite his reluctance, Xu Xian had no choice but to obediently go and sit next to Wang Lingkun at the teacher's warm invitation.

"Instructor, you're leaving the cockpit without permission? Is the management so lax now?" Xu Xian teased.

It's perfectly reasonable and compliant for a pilot to briefly leave the cockpit due to physiological reasons. However, Instructor Wang Lingkun doesn't seem to have any physiological issues; he looks perfectly fine, except for a slight bruise around his eyes.

The only situation in which a pilot can leave the cockpit for an extended period of time is when the remaining crew strength in the cockpit can form a complete crew strength.

The most common configuration is a two-pilot setup with one first officer. Unless it's a special route that requires both pilots to be on board simultaneously, one pilot can be removed from the crew at any time without affecting the overall crew balance.

The most common routes with clear requirements for two captains are high-altitude routes, but the Chengdu-Changfeng route obviously does not fall into this category. So why is Wang Lingkun allowed to leisurely board the first-class cabin? Isn't this a violation of regulations?

Wang Lingkun touched the area around his eye socket, and the touch of the bruised skin sent a jolt of pain through him, like an electric shock. He grimaced in pain: "These people went too far! Is it my fault for the delay? They're just making baseless accusations against me!"

Generally, the flight crew receives delay notifications earlier than the passengers. If there are severe flow control issues, dispatch will usually postpone the crew's arrival, mainly to accommodate their duty schedule.

Flight crews have limited duty periods; the calculation begins as soon as the crew leaves their hotel. Excessive delays could cause their duty periods to exceed the allotted time, preventing them from flying later. To avoid this, dispatch will instruct the crew to postpone their departure until a confirmed takeoff time is available. This prevents pointless waiting and wasted duty time.

That's why Wang Lingkun's entire crew arrived so late; it was all due to considerations regarding their duty schedule. You see, if it were just a round trip between Rongfu and Changfeng, the duty schedule wouldn't be long at all. The flight from Rongfu to Changfeng is quite short, with just over an hour in the air. However, Wang Lingkun's crew still had to fly to Tianning and then back to Yunnan, a four-segment flight. Their duty schedule wasn't particularly long to begin with, so they certainly wouldn't waste their time waiting. Therefore, dispatch's decision to delay the crew's arrival was perfectly reasonable.

However, the dispatching process was not well thought out. In principle, it was fine, but there were some flaws in the actual operation.

Since they knew the delay would be so long and passengers would likely be very agitated, they should have contacted the airport in advance to have the crew use the internal passageway! That way, they could have avoided being surrounded and blocked by passengers!

Star Travel Airlines doesn't have an agreement with Chengdu Airport, so normally they can't go through security via the internal passage and have to use the terminal like other passengers. However, special arrangements are made, and this kind of delay doesn't happen every day.

If the crew is allowed to proceed through the gate now, unsuspecting passengers might assume the delay is due to the crew being late. After all, similar bizarre issues have occurred before. Ordinary passengers have no idea what delayed boarding means, nor what a duty period is.

If the crew shows up at the gate right now, isn't that just handing themselves over to be taken advantage of?

Just now, Xu Xianyi realized the situation was bad and shouted loudly for Wang Lingkun to run away and avoid the brunt of the attack. But it was too late. With his old arms and legs, Wang Lingkun couldn't escape the indignant passengers and was surrounded by them demanding to speak.

Although these passengers were extremely angry, they were still somewhat rational. Even though they were verbally abusive, they did not have any intention of resorting to violence.

Unfortunately, Wang Lingkun had a terrible temper. Seeing so many people surrounding him, looking like they were there to interrogate him, he got angry.

The delay was due to the weather, which is God's responsibility. He's a pilot, not a celestial being who can perform magic to bring rain. Surrounding him and pointing fingers at him while yelling at him—what kind of absurd logic is that?

As for the claims that some people were late, that's utter nonsense.

After failing to break through the human wall, Wang Lingkun, seething with anger, unleashed a torrent of abuse on the passengers surrounding him. This completely ignited the already tense atmosphere. The passengers, already simmering with resentment, lost all composure after Wang Lingkun's outburst, and the scene descended into chaos. While the other crew members fared relatively well, Wang Lingkun was punched in the eye during the confusion, nearly knocking him unconscious on the spot.

Finally, airport police had to be called in to separate the group. Even after they were separated, the group was still on edge, ready to fight again at any moment. Seeing the situation, airport police were even considering contacting Star Travel Airlines through the airport to see if they should cancel the event.

As it turned out, just as the airport police were about to contact Xingyou Airlines, the dispatcher called Wang Lingkun first. They said the flight was scheduled to take off in forty minutes, the time was locked, and they should hurry up and prepare to board the passengers, otherwise they didn't know how long they would have to wait.

Upon learning of the accurate departure time, the crew and passengers, who had been locked in a fierce battle, immediately ceased their hostility and made peace. The crew hurriedly boarded the plane to prepare, while the passengers spontaneously began packing their belongings and lining up, waiting to board. The scene was so harmonious that it felt extremely eerily harmonious.

"What kind of baseless accusations are you spouting? They're just blinded by anger, and you've just walked right into their trap!" Xu Xian said helplessly. "The dispatcher is really something else. I don't believe he didn't know there were risks involved in going through the boarding gate. Couldn't he have contacted someone to arrange for us to go through the inner gate? The dispatcher is also responsible for this mess!"

"We parked all the vehicles inside the yard to save some money, but we had no choice! Without an agreement, we can't leave," Wang Lingkun sighed. "The dispatching department had no other option either."

A long time ago, Star Travel Airlines signed an agreement with Rongfu Airport. The crew did not enter the terminal building, but instead used the internal passageway, just like at Yunnan Airport, and was then picked up and transported from the tarmac by a crew vehicle to the inner airport.

However, the agreement recently expired. Logically, Star Travel Airlines should have renewed the contract with Rongfu Airport. But since the incident of Xu Xian running off the runway, Star Travel Airlines' finances have deteriorated rapidly, and in an effort to save itself, it has been trying various ways to cut costs. The originally planned renewal agreement was not signed, which has now forced the crew to use the terminal.

Although special cases are handled specially, without an agreement, why should Chengdu Airport cooperate with you? Why should it allow crews without an internal agreement to use the internal passage?

In this matter, Wang Lingkun, who has always had a fiery temper, really didn't blame the contracting agency.

"Oh ho, you're even speaking up for the dispatch? That's rare, instructor." Xu Xian's words were ambiguous, whether sarcastic or genuine.

Wang Lingkun has a really bad temper. He was the one who inspected Xu Xian's flight path once during a transfer. This worried his mentor, Qin Zongyang, a lot. In the end, he used some tricks to replace the inspector and settle the matter.

Qin Zongyang already had a terrible temper, and even he thought Wang Lingkun had a bad temper, which meant that Wang Lingkun's temper was genuinely problematic. If a captain with a relatively mild temper had been in charge this time, and had reasoned with the passengers politely, it wouldn't have come to the point of violence.

Honestly, even though Xu Xian knows Wang Lingkun, he sometimes feels that Wang Lingkun deserves a beating.

Wang Lingkun's bad temper is all-encompassing, and he frequently clashes with the dispatchers. Unexpectedly, this time he was assaulted, and even Xu Xian felt there was something wrong with the dispatchers. Yet, the usually hot-tempered Wang Lingkun was surprisingly tolerant, which greatly surprised Xu Xian.

"What? The company is already like this, that's enough." Wang Lingkun asked the flight attendant for some ice, wrapped it in a plastic bag, and used it to apply a cold compress to the bruises.

Dry ice or ice cubes are used to cool down some dishes that need to be kept fresh, which was perfect for Wang Lingkun.

"I didn't expect you to be so understanding, Instructor!" Xu Xian said with a smile. Star Travel Airlines is indeed having a tough time right now. Although Wang Lingkun usually has a bad temper and is troublesome, he still knows what's important in crucial moments. Xu Xian then gestured with his lip, "Instructor, you even know to use cold compresses!"

Bruising is often treated with both hot and cold compresses. However, many people don't actually know when to use a cold compress and when to use a hot compress.

Wang Lingkun rolled his eyes: "I've been in the army. What's a bruise? It's commonplace. Do you think I don't know how to treat it? Apply a cold compress to reduce swelling and pain within two hours. If it's been a while, apply a hot compress to promote blood circulation and remove blood stasis. Right? I know quite a lot about this."

"Yes, yes." Xu Xian laughed, but the bruises around Wang Lingkun's eyes were still quite noticeable, so he couldn't help but worry: "Instructor, are you really alright?"

"It's alright, don't worry! Weren't you just wondering why I was able to get out?" Wang Lingkun pointed to the cockpit ahead: "Today I'm flying the right seat, with one person in the left seat on my lap, and one other person watching over us. The setup is fine."

The first officer in the left seat, also known as the senior first officer, has a flight license but is also called the cruise captain. This means that this rank can act as the captain during cruise. Coincidentally, the third officer is a first officer, so even if Wang Lingkun is not in the cockpit during cruise, it will not have any impact.

To be honest, for this four-segment flight that doesn't involve complicated airport routes, the configuration of one instructor, one senior co-pilot, and one first co-pilot is already quite high. They can handle the situation, so even if Wang Lingkun feels a little uncomfortable, there shouldn't be any problems. Moreover, judging from Wang Lingkun's current appearance, it's probably just a little pain, and there shouldn't be any other issues.

"Such a high-end configuration? Isn't this overkill?" Xu Xian was quite surprised. Even if you're flying in the left seat, you wouldn't need an additional pair as an observer. This configuration is definitely beyond the normal range. Rongfu, Changfeng, Tianning, and Dianyungang airports aren't exactly complex airports, so why is the configuration so high?

"You don't understand!" Wang Lingkun said in a low voice, "It seems that Tianyan Magazine is preparing a special interview with Lian Shanxue for their tenth anniversary issue. This time, that little girl Lian Shanxue has really given our company a chance to come back from the brink of death. At this critical moment, all the equipment of all the units should be upgraded to ensure absolute safety. As long as we get through this difficult period, Xingyou will have escaped death."

"A ten-year issue? That's incredible!" Even Xu Xian didn't expect Tianyan Magazine to give Lian Shanxue a special interview for their ten-year issue. This was a huge honor in the entire civil aviation industry, second only to an independent supplement. There were only two precedents for Tianyan Magazine's independent supplements: Xu Qing and Han Qi. An independent supplement was something that people in the civil aviation industry dared not even dream of. To get a special interview opportunity for a ten-year issue was already like having one's ancestors' graves emitting smoke.

To be honest, even Xu Xian felt his chances of getting the ten-year issue were slim. He never expected that little girl Lian Shanxue would beat him to it!

"Yeah, I didn't expect it either. But the whole company is buzzing about it, and the flight department hasn't come out to deny it, so it must be true. Do you think the standards for the 10th-anniversary issue of Tianyan Magazine have been lowered? I really didn't expect Lian Shanxie to be selected for a special interview in this 10th-anniversary issue. Anyway, this time Xingyou has really made us proud. Now we're guaranteeing that there won't be any safety incidents before or after the interview," Wang Lingkun explained.

The special interview in the tenth issue of Tianyan Magazine will be crucial for Xingyou Airlines' turnaround; no problems can be tolerated before or after it. Raising crew pairing standards will indeed better guarantee safety, but this will bring a rather serious problem.

Xu Xian gestured with a money sign, the meaning clear. Raising crew standards would lead to a rapid increase in labor costs; each level of standard increase would require a corresponding increase in salaries. However, as far as Xu Xian knew, Star Travel's financial situation wasn't good. Such a large-scale salary expenditure would be unbearable even for a normally operating airline, let alone the already struggling Star Travel. Xu Xian was genuinely worried that this move would directly cripple Star Travel.

"It's alright." Wang Lingkun waved his hand. "The company has conducted a survey with all employees. All employees who are willing to delay their salary payment for one month will receive an extra 10% of their salary next month as compensation from the company. If they are not willing to delay payment, the company will still pay according to the normal standard, without any forced deductions or delays."

Throughout its history, Star Travel has faced various problems, but one thing has never been a problem: payroll.

This is indeed a critical moment. To ensure safety, the company has significantly increased its personnel costs in a short period, adding considerable pressure to its already precarious finances. Left with no other option, Star Travel has reached an agreement with all employees to postpone payments. If they can weather this month, the large volume of merchandise produced this month will pay off, and the special feature interview in the tenth-anniversary issue of Tianyan Magazine will bring Star Travel a lot of positive news, which will significantly boost its stock price in a short time.

This isn't because Star Travel is overly optimistic; rather, every airline that has been featured in the 10th anniversary special issue of Tianyan Magazine has experienced a significant surge in its stock price within a short period, without exception. This is the influence of Tianyan Magazine!

To be honest, the engine detachment incident involving Lian Shanxie was like an electric shock to Xingyou Airlines, giving the already half-dead airline a heart throbbing and essentially giving it a second chance at life. As long as they can get through this most difficult period, things will finally look brighter.

However, even at this critical juncture, Star Travel did not resort to underhanded tactics, but instead engaged in honest negotiations with its employees, especially the pilots. After all, pilots' salaries are significantly higher than most other employees. However, many pilots also face substantial loan burdens, making it impossible to force them to delay salary payments.

As compensation, an additional 10% of the salary will be paid along with next month's paycheck. Pilots with genuine loan or financial difficulties can report this to their fleet assistant, and their salaries will be paid normally. Furthermore, the company's chairman, Wen Jingshu, specifically stated that there should be no prejudice against employees who are unwilling to delay their salary payments. This statement was made personally at an employee meeting and was also issued as a reminder to each department, thus addressing the employees' final concerns.

As a result, after negotiations, approximately 60% of employees agreed to defer payments. The percentage was even higher among the pilots, reaching 80%, which undoubtedly greatly alleviated Star Travel's financial pressure during this crucial month.

"You can do that?" Xu Xian was surprised that this was possible, and he also didn't expect so many employees to be willing to delay their salary payments.

"Why can't we do it this way?" Wang Lingkun curled his lip. "Nobody wants Xingyou to go bankrupt. If we're talking about pointlessly clinging on, I guess many people would still be unwilling. But with hope right in front of us, what reason is there not to be?"

"That's true." Xu Xian smiled sincerely, "The storm is about to pass."

"Not necessarily." Wang Lingkun glanced around to make sure the flight attendant wasn't there, then leaned closer to Xu Xian and whispered, "I have something to tell you, but don't tell anyone!"

"What's all this mystery about?" Xu Xian became intrigued. "Tell me the good news or the bad news first!"

"Personally, I think that's a bad thing!" Wang Lingkun said. "But if handled well, the benefits can be huge."

"Speaking incoherently." Xu Xian: "Go ahead and say it."

Do you know what the tribute list is?

"A tribute list?" Xu Xian frowned. "You mean that small country in the southwest? What's wrong?"

"What? What happened? There's a war over there, it's a complete mess. Don't you watch the news?" Wang Lingkun said.

"Watch the news! I know there's fighting over there! But when has fighting ever stopped in that area? It's just one side finishing its act and the other taking the stage. Let them do their thing, what does it have to do with us?" Xu Xian looked puzzled: "Wait a minute, teacher, you haven't been counter-conscripted, have you? Hahaha!"

At certain special times, the military may recall some experienced veterans as needed. However, how could a small country like ours dare to provoke such a powerful nation? Xu Xian was simply joking with Wang Lingkun when he said this. He knew that Wang Lingkun had previously served in the military.

"You're such a chatterbox!" Wang Lingkun wasn't angry, but instead explained calmly, "Those were just minor squabbles before, but this time it seems like they're serious. It's really unbearable to stay there, so... it seems our country is planning to bring its citizens back."

Xu Xian's eyes widened: "You're not going to say it's an evacuation of overseas citizens, are you?"

(End of this chapter)