When the two cars drove to the main building of the Qantas headquarters office park, Tony, the senior vice president of Qantas who was responsible for handling the accident, was already waiting downstairs in advance. It was enough to show how much importance Qantas attached to Xia Ruofei.
When Tony saw a luxurious custom-made Bentley behind the Mercedes-Benz sent by the company, he couldn't help but be stunned.
Soon, the car came to a stop. Tony stepped forward to greet her, only to find that Xia Ruofei had alighted from the Bentley behind. His footsteps paused for a moment before he quickly adjusted his direction and walked towards Xia Ruofei.
"Mr. Xia, welcome to the Qantas headquarters!" Tony asked with a warm smile on his face, "How have you been in Australia these days?"
"Very good! The scenery in Australia is very charming! "Xia Ruofei replied with a smile in fluent English.
At this time, Tang Yitian and Li Yifu also got out of the car. Tony, who was shaking hands with Xia Ruofei, couldn't help but stop for a moment. He couldn't believe his eyes.
Tang Yitian was a famous rich man in Australia. Almost everyone in the business world knew him. Tony and Tang Yitian had also met several times.
Although Tony was also a senior executive of the behemoth Qantas Airlines, Qantas was a national airline. Strictly speaking, Tony was just a senior employee, belonging to the "leader of a state-owned enterprise." Of course, his salary was definitely much higher than the average civil servant.
The Meiya Group, which was not inferior to Qantas, was an enterprise that Tang Yitian absolutely controlled.
Comparing the two, Tony and Tang Yitian were naturally not on the same level.
Tony didn't expect Xia Ruofei to be so close to Tang Yitian that Tang Yitian would personally accompany him to attend a press conference.
Of course, Tony, like his secretary, didn't recognize Li Yifu, who was all powerful in the United States. Otherwise, he would be even more shocked.
Tony quickly shook hands with Xia Ruofei, then quickly turned to Tang Yitian and said with a smile, "Mr. Tang, I didn't expect you to come in person! Welcome, welcome! "
Tang Yitian chuckled and pointed at Xia Ruofei: "I'm free today so I came with my good friend to take a look."
Tang Yitian then introduced, "Mr. Tony, this is Mr. Li Yifu, the chairman of the Nine States Group in the United States. He's also my elder!"
Tony couldn't help but tremble slightly and hurriedly greeted Li Yifu.
Li Yifu had hardly been involved in business matters in recent years, so his exposure rate wasn't high. However, the Nine State Group was a well-known consortium and held a pivotal position in the American business world. Naturally, Tony didn't dare to neglect it.
The fact that two important figures had personally accompanied Xia Ruofei made Tony's attention to Xia Ruofei immediately rise to a new level.
After exchanging some pleasantries, Tony warmly invited the three of them to his office.
Tony's office was located on the top floor of the Qantas headquarters. It was about two to three hundred square meters in size and had a glass wall that overlooked the entire Qantas headquarters. The view was quite good.
Tony asked everyone to take a seat in the reception area and then said, "Mr. Xia, the press conference will be held in about half an hour. I'll make it short!"
Xia Ruofei smiled and said, "Okay."
Tony looked at Xia Ruofei and said, "This time, we will announce the reward plan for the people who have contributed to this special invitation. The reward for Mr. Xia is as follows: cash reward of two million Australian dollars …"
Tang Yitian raised his eyebrows when he heard this number, but he didn't interrupt Tony. He still listened patiently.
According to the exchange rate, two million Australian dollars was almost equivalent to ten million Huaxia dollars. It wasn't a small number and was similar to the mainstream international standard, or even a little more. Perhaps it was because Xia Ruofei's contribution this time was too great.
But this small amount of money was too little for Tang Yitian. After all, Xia Ruofei's position in his mind had unknowingly become more respected.
Tony continued, "Qantas will award Mr. Xia the title of 'Honorary Passenger.' Mr. Xia can take our company's flights for free for life. At the same time, when you take the flights of other allied companies, you can also enjoy VIP treatment and a 50% discount on the basic ticket!"
"Qantas" was an international airline alliance initiated by Qantas in 1999. It included five members, American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Air Canada, and Qantas. The alliance companies cooperated in many aspects such as flight times, ticketing, sharing codes, passenger transfers, airport VIP rooms, and so on.
In other words, Xia Ruofei won the title of "Honorary Passenger." Not only could he take Qantas's flights for life for free, but he could also enjoy a 50% discount on the basic ticket when he took the flights of the other four allied companies. He could also enjoy VIP services such as VIP rooms.
Of course, Xia Ruofei didn't often take international flights, so he just smiled and nodded at this reward. He wasn't too surprised.
Tony carefully observed Xia Ruofei's expression, then said, "Of course, we also prepared a small surprise for Mr. Xia. Please forgive me for keeping you in suspense for now. I believe Mr. Xia will like it! "
"Oh? I'm looking forward to it! " Xia Ruofei said with a smile, "I have no objection to this reward plan, and thank you for your company's generosity!"
Tony hurriedly said, "Mr. Xia, you're exaggerating. Your heroic actions not only saved us from huge financial losses, but more importantly, you've protected our company's reputation. No matter how much you're rewarded, it's not enough!"
At this time, Tony's secretary, Ivy, gently knocked on the door and then walked in with a document.
Knocking on the door and entering when the boss was meeting an important guest meant that this document must be very important, so Tony immediately excused himself, got up and walked to his desk.
While Tony was processing the document, Tang Yitian said in Chinese, "Ruofei, Qantas is too stingy! Two million Australian dollars is enough to send you away? "
Li Yifu felt like he was being humiliated, so he said with righteous indignation, "Master's Uncle! Qantas doesn't take you seriously! Do you want me to teach them a lesson? "
Xia Ruofei waved his hand and said, "You two don't add to the trouble! How much money is too much? Do I lack this money? Besides, I was trying to save myself and the passengers on the plane, not for the reward! "
"But …" Li Yifu said.
"Okay! I think they're quite sincere. " Xia Ruofei interrupted Li Yifu's words and said with a smile, "You can check the reward cases for similar incidents internationally, and you'll know that they're not stingy! They're quite generous! Besides, didn't Tony say that there's a surprise? "
Xia Ruofei tried her best to pacify the two 'nationalistic youths'. However, when Tony came over after he was done with the documents, the two of them didn't look happy. This made Tony a little uneasy. He didn't know what he did wrong to offend the two of them.
After sitting down again, Tony calmed down and said to Xia Ruofei, "Mr Xia, there's one more thing, which is about the press conference that will be held soon. The press is very interested in your affairs, and there may be many questions thrown at you. You can choose to answer, and for those questions that make you feel uncomfortable, you can completely refuse. "
Xia Ruofei knew the intention of Tony's words, so he nodded with a smile and said, "I understand, about some details of this incident, it's still based on the content that you announced."
In fact, Xia Ruofei didn't like to appear in public like this, but considering that this incident had been exposed in the country, it didn't make sense to hide it.
In addition, this was Australia, and Xia Ruofei, as a Chinese, could become a hero sought after by the media, which was also regarded as a national prestige, so Xia Ruofei agreed to attend this press conference.
Tony was overjoyed when he heard this. It was easy to talk to smart people!
After the two matters were discussed, the next step was to wait for the press conference to start. Tony also began to find topics to chat with Tang Yitian and Li Yifu.
However, the two of them were a little indifferent to Tony, so the atmosphere was somewhat awkward.
Fortunately, it didn't take long. Soon, Ivy knocked on the door and came in, saying, "Mr. Tony, it's almost time. Everything is ready, and the reporters have already entered."
Tony was relieved. He stood up and said, "Mr Xia, Mr Tang, Mr Li, let's go!"
Tony personally led the way in front, leading Xia Ruofei and the other two to take the elevator to the floor where the press conference hall was located.
The group of people entered the press conference hall from the side door, which was similar to the backstage waiting room. From here, they could see part of the press conference hall from the side of the stage. Li Yifu and Tang Yitian stayed here.
Tang Yitian was a big celebrity in Australia. If he went out, he would definitely be recognized by the reporters. It was impossible for him to blend in with the reporters.
What surprised Xia Ruofei was that the flight attendant and the air marshal from the last plane would also attend this press conference. Both of them were already waiting here.
Everyone had gone through hardships together, so they felt very close to each other when they met. They couldn't help but chat. It wasn't until the clock pointed to 9: 30 that everyone walked out together.
After Xia Ruofei and the others came out, the noisy press conference hall suddenly quieted down.
Then, the flashes lit up one after another. Xia Ruofei felt that his eyes were almost unable to open – most of the cameras were aimed at him.
The lone hero from the mysterious East. There were too many breaking news here. At this time, Xia Ruofei was definitely the darling of the media.
Everyone found their own nameplates and sat down. Xia Ruofei's seat was in the middle, next to Tony. Next to them were the flight attendant, the air marshal, and the host of the press conference, sitting in the seat closest to the side.
"Everyone, please be quiet!" The host opened the microphone in front of him and said, "Thank you for your presence. Today, we are very honored to invite Mr Tony, the senior vice president of Qantas Airlines, Mr Xia Ruofei, who helped Qantas Flight QF108 land successfully, and …"
The host first introduced several people who attended the press conference today, and then said, "Next, let's invite Mr Tony to announce the news. There will be a question and answer session later!"
After that, the host motioned to Tony and turned off the microphone in front of him.
Tony showed a smile on his face. After testing the microphone, he said, "Welcome to the media. First of all, I would like to announce the preliminary investigation conclusion of this incident! A few days ago, an emergency occurred on Flight QF108, which was flying from Beijing to Sydney, Australia, from Huaxia. The plane finally made a successful landing in Saipan. There were no passenger casualties. The incident caused two crew members to die and one crew member to be injured. Our preliminary investigation included questioning the parties involved, retrieving cabin audio records and flight records, and conducting a comprehensive inspection and review of the plane … "
Qantas had prepared a draft, and Tony was very cautious. He took the draft and read it word by word.
Finally, he said, "After the preliminary investigation, we have come to the basic conclusion that this incident was a long-planned hijacking. The co-pilot on duty, Wilkins, is a major suspect. The police have applied for a search warrant to search Wilkins' residence and seal his computer, tablet, and other material evidence. We will inform the media as soon as we have further information!"
Tony paused for a moment, then looked at Xia Ruofei and said, "Here, on behalf of Qantas, I would like to express the most sincere gratitude to Mr Xia Ruofei from Huaxia. If Mr Xia had not acted decisively at the critical moment and bravely piloted the plane to land in Saipan when all the pilots were disabled, this incident would have led to extremely tragic consequences! Mr Xia, thank you! "
After that, Tony stood up and bowed deeply to Xia Ruofei.
The reporters in the audience were also a little restless. Although everyone had inquired about the incident through various channels, and the details of the incident were well described in the online media and some tabloids, this was the first time that Qantas had officially admitted that this was a long-planned hijacking incident by the co-pilot, which was of great significance.
Many reporters could not wait to raise their hands and ask questions.
Tony smiled and said, "Please be patient, I still have some information to announce. There will be a question-and-answer session later. We have left enough time for everyone to ask questions!"
After hearing this, the reporters sat back in their seats.
Tony then said, "The second news I want to announce is that Qantas will reward the meritorious personnel who successfully handled this special incident …"
Then, Tony announced the reward plan according to the draft.
Including Captain Brooke, the chief flight attendant, the flight attendant, the air marshal, and others, they also received cash rewards, as well as internal honors of Qantas.
Of course, the largest cash reward was Xia Ruofei's two million Australian dollars, in addition to Captain Brooke's 1.5 million Australian dollars, and the chief flight attendant and the air marshal's 500,000 Australian dollars. The other crew members shared a bonus of one million Australian dollars.
Xia Ruofei was not an internal employee of Qantas, so there was no additional honor, but there was an additional title of "honorary passenger", which was more substantial.
Tony also emphasized that Captain Johnson, who died in the line of duty, would be compensated according to the standards for those who died in the line of duty. At the same time, the Qantas union would also come up with an additional bonus, and all passengers would receive a certain amount of compensation. These were not in the reward plan and would be announced in the near future.
Finally, Tony looked at Xia Ruofei with a smile and said, "In order to recognize Mr. Xia Ruofei's heroic behavior, we decided to name the Airbus A350 aircraft that flew that day 'Ruofei', and …"
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
