Slogan of turning losses into profits

"The road is difficult to pass, and the sky is difficult to be high!" Li Bai's poem "It is difficult to get in and out of Sichuan" shows that it is not easy, and the complex landform environment has also brought many opportunities for the local development of aviation industry.

Following 1985, there was a wave of local airlines in China, and Sichuan Province also took the opportunity to set up Sichuan Airlines. After 35 years of development, Sichuan Airlines has made great progress. Not only has the largest passenger fleet in China, Sichuan Airlines Group has also become the fifth largest aviation group in China.

However, the aviation development in Sichuan is not smooth sailing, but has experienced many dramatic challenges. For example, the domestic Yun -7 aircraft used for the first time is profitable; Figure-154 Large passenger planes were introduced in the form of loans and barter trade.

In the picture, the scale of Sichuan aviation fleet reaches 168.

In Sichuan in the1980s, Chongqing was not directly under the jurisdiction of solo flight. Sichuan province covers an area of 570,000 square kilometers and has a population of over 100 million. Although rich in human and natural resources, it is not near the sea or along the border, which seriously limits the development of Sichuan by backward transportation.

After the founding of People's Republic of China (PRC), with the strong support of the state, Sichuan has successively built five railways, namely Chengdu-Chongqing, Baocheng, Cheng Kun, Sichuan-Guizhou and Xiangyu, with a mileage of more than 2,700 kilometers. Highway mileage ranks first in the country. In addition, Sichuan has dredged the Yangtze River waterway. The only drawback is air transportation.

1985, a company in southwest China owned 26 civil aircraft, of which 10 was Yun -5, with a passenger throughput of only 778,000 passengers and a cargo and mail throughput of180,000 tons. Insufficient air transport capacity has become an important factor restricting Sichuan's opening to the outside world.

Photo: Panshan Highway, Sichuan

After the reform and opening up, Sichuan also decided to own its own airlines. 1985, Sichuan province set up a preparatory group to buy back two Boeing 737 passenger planes. In order to make the airlines operate on a large scale, they also planned to join hands with Yunnan, Guizhou and Tibet, but they failed.

At that time, China civil aviation still belonged to the management system of "integration of government and enterprise", and local airlines had no successful experience to follow, so everything needed to cross the river by feeling the stones. Sichuan province also requires the preparatory group to contract the operation and be responsible for its own profits and losses. At that time, no one was sure of making a profit. In the absence of command, Sichuan Province dissolved the preparatory group. The purchased Boeing aircraft was also handed over to the Civil Aviation Administration and the personnel were relocated. The first airline in Sichuan Province ended in "stillbirth".

The people in the initial preparatory group did not want to fail. At this moment, Du Dinghuan stood up. At that time, he was the chief accountant of Chengdu Aircraft Industry Corporation. It coincides with the delivery of the domestic Yun -7 aircraft, which also ushered in an opportunity for the establishment of Sichuan Airlines. Yun -7' s "family", the aviation industry fully supports Sichuan Airlines to use domestic passenger aircraft, and gives priority to aircraft prices and fuel supply. The main leaders of Sichuan Province also agreed, but they still carried out the contract system.

The leading group of Sichuan Airlines, headed by Du Dinghuan, has designed a business plan that conforms to the national conditions and provincial conditions, starting with domestic aircraft and turning losses into profits in three years. At the same time, Du also put forward a unique business strategy: "nurturing the small with the big", "learning from each other's strengths" and "supplementing the sky with the land".

Cultivate the small with the big: introduce foreign large aircraft through its own development, and then subsidize the losses of small aircraft with the profits of large aircraft.

Learn from each other's strengths: subsidize short-distance losses with profits from long routes.

Fill the sky with land: adopt a variety of business methods, vigorously expand non-aviation income, and subsidize airline losses.

Figure 1987, Sichuan Airlines retrieved the aircraft from Xi 'an Aircraft Factory.

The establishment of Sichuan Airlines can not be separated from the support of the main leaders of Sichuan Province. For example, Yang Rudai, then secretary of the provincial party committee, clearly stated that "Sichuan should run aviation". At that time, Governor Jiang Minkuan and Executive Vice Governor Gu also did a lot of work.

Subsequently, the Sichuan provincial government organized experts to review the business plan of Sichuan Airlines. The governor's office will collectively study and pass the declaration plan. The Sichuan provincial government initially invested 32 million yuan, and subsidized 6.5438+0.5 million yuan in the first three years. The operation after that depends on Sichuan Airlines itself.

It seems impossible for foreigners to start an airline with 32 million yuan, but Sichuanese did it. Behind it is the arduous entrepreneurial history of Sichuan Airlines.

The basis of turning losses into profits is to open source and reduce expenditure. After the establishment of Sichuan Airlines, the MC's office finally settled in a hometown to run a hotel. Airport employees are even more crowded in simple sheds.

In order to get Sichuan Airlines to sail as soon as possible, Du Dinghuan led a team to Xi and Beijing for many times, spent limited funds on the cutting edge, and bought two Yun-7s as soon as possible.

Photo: maiden voyage ceremony of Sichuan Airlines

1988 July 14 is a memorable day for Sichuan Airlines. Yun -7 passenger plane painted as "Sichuan Airlines" took off from Chengdu Shuangliu Airport and arrived at Wanxian Liangping Airport one hour later. After the successful sailing of Sichuan Airlines, five Yun -7 passenger planes were introduced one after another, and flights from Chengdu to Chongqing, Luzhou, Nanchong, Xichang, Dazu and Yibin were opened.

Anyone who knows aviation management knows that the short range and high relative cost of small aircraft lead to low per capita labor productivity and easy to fall into the quagmire of losses. At that time, the routes operated by dozens of Yun -7 passenger planes were all at a loss without exception.

The unbelieving Sichuan Airlines people reduced their losses by 330,000 yuan in the sailing year. 1989, Sichuan Airlines still reduced its losses by170,000 yuan in the case of a huge impact on tourism. 1990, Sichuan Airlines got rid of the hat of loss and became one of the profitable airlines.

When Zou Jiahua, then Vice Premier of the State Council, heard about the achievements made by Sichuan Airlines, he said happily: "Sichuan Airlines has operated well with Yun -7 aircraft. They work hard and have poor conditions. They save money to earn money. This example is very good. "

Du Dinghuan has always believed that the use of small aircraft is not a long-term solution, and Sichuan Airlines needs to broaden its horizons and introduce foreign trunk aircraft. So there was the legendary story of Sichuan Airlines barter trade and the introduction of the Soviet Tu-154 passenger plane.