Milan is the most prosperous city in Italy and the transportation hub of northern Italy. The bustling metropolis coupled with easy access to transportation makes Milan well-informed. This year, however, the well-informed Milanese were also blown away by the fact that Alitalia was founded in Milan.

Some people may ask, why is the establishment of an airline shocking?

I'm sorry, but I didn't make it clear, but it wasn't the world's first airline to use the sky for cargo and passenger transport, but the means of transport they used, the rigid airship, that shocked the people of Milan. The shock of these 100-meter-long creatures slowly floating over your head thousands of meters above you in the sky is simply beyond words.

That's right, the current carrier of Alitalia for transport missions is airships, and the only commercial aviation capable of commercial aviation is the hard airship developed by Count Zeppelin. Compared with the aircraft that can only be a game of Jumanji, although the hard airship appeared later, its commercial value is more valued in this era.

For example, the smallest ZL5 airship is 112 meters long, 7.9 meters in diameter, weighs 48 tons, and has a usable lift of 21 tons. It is equipped with two 600 hp VL2 in-line engines, developed by the Milan Power Laboratory, which can propel the airship to speeds of up to 55 km/h.

Although the speed of the airship is not as fast as that of the airplane, the two are not the same class at all in terms of carrying capacity. It is precisely for this reason that the airship is now available and can be immediately commercially operated. And Alitalia, as the first to eat crabs, of course, also made a lot of money.

In addition to the maintenance and warranty time, the three hard airships are basically carrying out passenger and cargo transportation outside, and now they are mainly for passenger transportation. After all, we all have a dream of flying, and if we could afford to spend a hundred pounds or two on an air trip, I don't think anyone would be able to resist the temptation. And compared to dangerous aircraft, airships are much safer.

At present, Alitalia has developed domestic air routes in Milan, Rome, Naples and other places, of course, in addition to domestic, many foreign countries have also developed, such as Berlin, Vienna, Paris, London, etc. Everywhere you go, you can attract the local people to watch the airship, and it seems that people's enthusiasm for this kind of flying big guy is very high.

In view of the booming business of the airline, of course, the top management of the airline can't sit still, and it is simply a shame to the high salary of the top management if they do not take such a good opportunity to continue to expand the number of airships of the airline.

"General Manager, the people from the Bank of Savoy are here, they are in the reception room."

In the office of General Manager Arman, the secretary knocked on the door to inform him of the news.

"Okay, I see, it's over."

Dressed in a hot straight and expensive suit, Arman put the work in his hand, picked up a document and walked to the reception room.

"Hello, General Manager Arman."

"Hello, President Seidl."

Seidl, president of Banco Savoy Milan, met with him with the branch's credit manager.

"President Seidel, this is the business situation of our company in the past three months, you can take a look first."

Arman, the airline's general manager, handed the documents he was carrying to President Seidl, who handed them to the credit manager.

"The two of you look at it casually, although our company has only been established for less than a year, but the income flow can be seen that our company's good financial situation. If it weren't for the fact that the airship was too expensive, our company wouldn't have thought of asking you for a bank loan......"

Governor Seidel listened to Arman, who knew a lot about Alitalia.

Although the company was founded very young and its capital was not very strong, it was only 15 million lira. But if you look at its shareholders, the Italian government has invested 45 percent, the royal family has invested 25 percent, and others have invested 30 percent.

It is precisely for this reason that the landing fields set up by Alitalia in the suburbs of several large cities in China will be so smooth, and the landing fields set up abroad are also facilitated by other countries.

The information was checked quickly, and the credit manager of the Bank of Savoy, who had read the information, nodded to the president Seidel after reading it, indicating his approval of the information.

Gu Yu

However, although the content of the information was recognized, there were some things that President Seidel had to ask in person. After all, the loan amount applied for by Alitalia this time is a bit large, and if it weren't for the secret telegram sent by the head office to help Alitalia, he might not have dared to accept the company's loan application, and 50 million lire is the largest loan he has handled.

"Mr. Arman, your company has applied for a loan of 50 million lire from our bank, which is not a small amount. For the security of this loan, I would like to hear how your company uses this loan. ”

Arman smiled at President Seidl's inquiry. "Actually, even if you don't ask, I'll say it. The reason why we will borrow such a large amount of money is because we are optimistic about the future of air transportation. ”

As he spoke, Arman took out a map of the world that had been drawn with lines on it, and continued. "At present, although we have developed many air routes, such as the Central European Airlines line from Rome to Milan and Vienna to Berlin, and the Western European Airlines line from Rome to Turin, Paris and London. However, in view of the current shortage of airships, our company is ready to borrow 23 million lire for the purchase of 7 medium and large airships to fix these air lines. In addition, there are 4 million lire, which is used to open up air stations in various cities, and is used for airship docking and maintenance work. ”

After saying that, Arman looked at the two longest lines on the map with a reverent expression. "With the remaining 23 million lire, our company will use it to build two super-large airships for ultra-long-range shipping missions. The Transatlantic North and South America routes are the focus of the next phase of our Italian airlines. ”

If you want to ask which sea route is the busiest at present, don't think too much, the sea route between North America and Europe is the busiest, there are not too many people from Europe to North America to live, and there are not too many people in North America who come to Europe to study and trade, and the demand across the Atlantic Ocean on both sides has also given birth to the busiest sea route at present.

The fact that the Blue Ribbon award for the fastest flight across the North Atlantic has been broken one after another is a reflection of the busy route. It makes perfect sense that Alitalia would want to play a role in this. After all, the speed of the airship is definitely faster than that of a ship, and the feeling of the sky can be compared to that of the sea. Therefore, the two super-large airships that carry the dream of the intercontinental route of Alitalia are the tasks that must be built.

As for the South American route, it is even more needless to mention. To add an extra mile, at present, the sea shipping from South America to Europe is still dominated by large sailing vessels.

Make no mistake, at a time when ships are not only using coal but also upgrading to fuel oil, South America is still using wind power as primitive power.

That's right, but that's the case, because there's a straightforward problem with the fact that South America is too far away and there are no supply points along the way, and it's hard for coal-fired ships to cross the distance between Africa and South America all at once. There is also a rather economic reason, and that is the shortage of coal in South America, which is not enough thermal coal to burn ships.

Some people may say, can't we go north first, to North America and then to Europe?

This is okay, but the price of its shipping, that is too high, definitely much higher than that of a sailboat. It is better to build a ship carrying a large amount of coal, which is estimated to be much more cost-effective than taking the North American route.

The intention of Alitalia to open up South American routes is also obvious, that is, to make it easier for the rich and powerful in South America to travel to and from Europe for exchanges.

Although Arman did not say how to open up the American route, President Seidel also had a plan in mind about the prospect of opening up this route. I saw him stand up, stretch out his hand, and speak.

"Mr. Arman, you convinced me. It's hard for me to imagine the profit and prestige that your company would bring if it opened up routes to the Americas. And if I don't lend you money, I'm sure I'll regret it. ”

Governor Seidl's words of agreement to lend money brought a smile on Arman's face as well. "Believe me, Governor Seidl, this is the smartest decision you've ever made. Alitalia will not disappoint anyone. ”

"I believe it too."

……

After seeing off the banker, Arman immediately picked up the phone and ordered. "Now send a telegram to Zeppelin, and the big guys can start building."

Almann's order was soon transmitted by telegram to the Zeppelin company in Germany. As the founder of the company and the inventor of the rigid airship, Count Zeppelin took Alitalia orders very seriously. After all, the price of a rigid airship is too high, and his company currently has orders for two or three ships from the government and the military.

Not to mention that there are nine ships in Italy this time, and two of them are the kind of big guys that are more than 200 meters, so it is necessary to be able to complete the order beautifully.

So after receiving the telegram, Count Zeppelin said to the people on the scene with excitement. "Guys, we're going to have a big fight!"