Can Am Story

by Oliver Rill

  Once we got the green light from the film crew, we climbed the steps into the interior. My palms were sweating and my heartrate raced. The dark grey carpet greeted our steps and we were faced with rows of light grey seats that were a blend between Recaro sport seats and comfortable leather armchairs. The air held the scent of cedar, which had been artificially induced. It had a calming, classy effect. The light gray leather cover of the economy seat was quilted with a thick, blood red yarn and folded neatly on the seats were the blankets that we had had made. It was a thin quilted affair colored blood red with thick grey stitching. The blankets had been Rebecca’s idea, giving the interior an extra hugge feel. We had stitched our logo on them and bought in another version in grey with red stitching for sale onboard. The journalists would today get a USB stick as well as the press folder with information and photos. Underneath the photos there were five pictures of me looking particularly stylish that we had made during the week. They would also get one of our cuddly blankets to take home.

  The electrically adjustable seats could even be lengthened and there was a good 12 inches space between the rows for knees. The touchscreen monitor was fixed to the seat in front as in all modern planes and an on-board entertainment channel was programmed in. In the pocket were magazines, the emergency information cards and a glossy book with articles about the onboard sales.

  Could it be improved? Yes. In the business class the seats were so puffed up here that only four could fit in a row, two left and two right of the aisle, the screen was bigger, there was even more leg room, an adjustable foot rest to the seat that you could almost stretch to laying position. It felt like a club, only the cigar was missing. I was enchanted. It was just as I had imagined.

  We had kept the uniform very simple. Shirt or blouse, and trousers all in black with the logo in blood red. And that was it. No silly pinny or flappy scarf or ties. We wanted to stand before our customers looking serious and professional.

  “Good morning Ladies and Gentlemen. I welcome you aboard Can American Airlines. My name is Oliver Hoffmann, I am president of the airline and I am going to accompany you today on our short trip to San Francisco.

  Our Captain will start the engines shortly and we have a quick moment to look around the aircraft. I will introduce our Head Purser, David Fields, to you later.

  As we only have a short flight today, we are going to serve a warm lunch as soon as we have finished the take-off. You will find a press folder in the pocket in front of you with information about the new Can American Airlines. You will find further information and pictures on the USB stick that it contains. I am especially pleased to be able to accompany you on this, the Maiden flight of this brand new Boeing 737-800, and support the crew in service. I will also be happy to answer any questions you may have.

  We are going to show you today that Can Am isn’t just another seller of seats in the air, but we make the flight as pleasant an experience as possible. Our motto is: “the way is the goal”. We want you to leave this plane with a smile on your face and ask yourself when you last had such a good meal in a restaurant and even why your armchair at home is not so comfortable! I have pralines which I will distribute to each of you and I will at that time be able to answer any questions you might have personally. This praline, by the way, has been created especially for Can Am as a sweet greeting to our clients. And now I wish you all a pleasant flight. Thank you very much for your time and attention.”

  During the flight, I had a trolley with Rebecca. We pushed it along row by row, distributed drinks and answered questions which flew in from all sides. Aristo sat in the Economy section and chatted with a reporter. We had to really hurry to get the meal and drinks served then cleared again before we landed in San Francisco.

  The reporters were really having a heyday. They actually had a real flesh and blood president of the firm within their grasp and not a panel of marketing people or a representative of a hedge fund. I think that they liked the blankets that they got at the end of the flight best though.

  I did it. I managed to get through it unscarred. It was only a short flight, but I was so mentally exhausted that I just wanted to go to the hotel and close my eyes in a darkened room for an hour at least. The press team flew back and I splashed out on a limo to the hotel. The Limo driver was quite nice, so I booked a sightseeing tour with him on the spot.

  The lobster that we had on the pier for dinner was as fresh as it got, caught that morning. The atmosphere was celebratory and, not wanting to let it go, we got a cab to Castro’s for drinks afterwards to extend the mood.

  “Hey, I’m gonna have to take care of you now. Matt isn’t here.” Aristo teased. “I’d better not catch you making eyes at anyone!” But I really didn’t feel like going on the pull. I missed Matt.

  The next morning the scent of fresh-baked waffles and hot coffee called our names to Mama’s, a small but sweet breakfast place in Washington Square, with small latticed windows and red and white striped awnings. I always supported this small business whenever I was in San Francisco, however, even a president of a small airline has to stand in line for his breakfast and somehow it felt just right so. It was worth the wait!

  We walked off the calories up the hill to Coit Tower and gazed at the panoramic view.

  “It’s really beautiful here, Oli. I like San Francisco. But I still don’t know if I could live here.”

  “Give it time, ‘Risto. Give it time. We don’t have to make a decision right now.”

  Back at Los Angeles airport, Matt picked us up as agreed. We drove out to Venice to see how the move was going. The place was in chaos. Torn and opened packing was shoved hastily to the sides and a load of removals men were building chairs, tables and cabinets from flat packs. Still more were putting lamps together and connecting telephones.

  “Don’t worry, it just looks in a muddle. It will all be ready by tomorrow so you can work!” Called out the supervisor. I shrugged as I couldn’t really see it, but it was what it was. I wrestled the Jaguar keys from Matt and told him to take a cab.

  “It might be a late one, Oli …”

  “For you, I would wait forever.” I whispered with a flood of feeling, surprising myself as much as him. He laughed hiding his emotions and told me I was just crazy.

  Home sweet home! I had missed my little oasis of safety in the middle of this big loud city. I changed and sprang in the pool. Gavin had, with his typical foresight, kindly prepared something to eat that we just had to nuke. I had the feeling tomorrow was going to be a hard day, so I climbed into bed early.

  I woke up, earlier than normal, at eight the next morning. Matt wasn’t there, he must have finished late and gone directly home. I couldn’t wait for Aristo and didn’t’ want to go swimming. I was on hot coals to see what the new offices looked like. So I showered quickly and jumped in the car.

  I kept wanting to turn the wheel towards JB Homes, it felt so strange to be driving to Venice at that time in the morning. I laughed out loud in the car at my contrary mind and drove to the Highway and then to the offices. I thought about Matt on the drive. We had slept together several times and I liked him. He was blindingly good looking and could still give me a kick up the backside if I didn’t want to exercise in the evening, but held back when I had to make decisions. I got jealous when he was so distant and felt enormous relief when he turned back to me. But he never really got back with me. He denied that he loved me or was with me and I felt I had to tread on eggshells not to put him under pressure, but give him his head while at the same time letting him know that I liked him. His idea of a nightmare would be for me to admit that I was already head over heels in love with him and had been for a while. Maybe it would have conjured a big grin on his beautiful face.

  I went into the building. As we hadn’t yet employed anyone to man it yet, the reception desk in the bright, clean reception atrium stood empty. The seating echoed the plane’s seats in style. The logo was lit from behind each letter and stood loud and proud. Enlarged pictures fr
om the press folders were hanging on the walls. We did need a few potted plants, but it looked as fantastic as you would expect from a professional like Debbie.

  I checked my cell phone, but Matt hadn’t called. I took the elevator to the second floor and had to think hard about where my office was. I turned left and walked along the corridor. My office was the last room and Matt was already there!

  “Here you are!”

  “Oli, we’ve been here all night getting the network to function. I’ve just got to put one picture up and then you are all ready in here. Do you like it?”

  “You’ve been working all night?”

  “It’s ok Oli. Someone had to be here.”

  “Let’s have a coffee and then you drive home and get some sleep. Ok?”

  “No, I’ll work through now. You need me today, but I may leave early.”

  “As you will. Where can I get a coffee around here?”

  “On its way Boss.” As Matt returned with the coffee, he shut the door behind himself and kissed me. “Isn’t it super? Aren’t you excited?”

  “The kiss was super and I am excited to see you naked again.”

  “Oli. Really! I meant the office!” Matt squirmed with mock embarrassment.

  “And I meant this sexy guy here.”

  “Oli, not in the office, ok?”

  Things got busy. The telephone rang off the hook. The small team of staff began to fill the desks and just before midday, I called everyone to the conference room. I wanted to set the tone for the offices and check that everyone had everything they needed. It soon became clear that we needed more staff.

  Aristo began interviewing and he was good at it. He would get a personnel officer to back him up with the correct procedures and so on, but I let him do his own thing in appointing the flight assistants.

  Marketing dealt with not only the press and external adverts in the papers, radio, magazines and the like, but also handled the selling free spaces with advertising in our internal onboard magazine as well as and writing articles and filling our onboard sales with beautiful things in its own creative and stylish way.

  Mark also got new staff to help him. I wanted as many firms and travel agents visited to spread the word as far possible in the new areas that we were flying to. I wasn’t in such a hurry with the planned legal department. Its office was empty and no one had sued as yet. If and when they did, it would probably make more financial sense to hire an external lawyer or get help from JB Homes legal department.

  Rebecca came over early afternoon and brought a small folder.

  “What’s that?” I asked in surprise.

  “That’s today’s press.” She said with a satisfied smile. “Have a look!” She had put a couple of samples of today’s papers and a couple of screen prints from the online articles in the folder.

  “That’s a lot of reading, Rebecca, isn’t it?” I leafed through quickly, glancing at the headlines.

  “We got a whole load of press. Most of it very positive. A few sceptical ones. They seem to like us. And, they seem to like you, too. That is free advertising, worth around $16,000,000.”

  “$16,000,000? How does that work?”

  “If we had to sponsor the articles, we would have had to pay around that much. And thanks to the superb photos that we had done, we have been well placed in the front of the papers and magazines too. The photographer was certainly worth his money.”

  “That’s great. You’re a little genius. I am so glad to have enticed you away from the university.”

  “I would actually like to finish my studies at some point, Mr Hoffmann.”

  “And you shall. Just not for the next four months, ok?”

  I sent Matt off home in the Jaguar, looking forward to being finally able to drive the Thunderbird that Aristo took to the office when he arrived. I had wanted the car so much but then had so far only driven it on test drives and the first time I had taken it home. Since then it had either stood in the garage, or Aristo used it.

  I was just getting ready to start packing my things together for the evening and hook Aristo out of his office as Sharon sashayed into my office. Sharon had taken Amanda’s booking and customer relations job. She was into alternative fashion, but managed to keep tidy and groomed. In spite of the unconventional look, her clothes were expensive showing off her long silky straight black hair. She was petite and had a deadpan dry humor that had us in stitches at times.

  “Am I supposed to do all the work alone?”

  “What do you mean, Sharon?”

  “I have been answering enquiries and making bookings all day. Several routes are already full and even overbooked.”

  “Yeah well, it’s the beginning of November and Christmas is just around the corner. Of course we’re going to be busy. It’ll get quieter later on.”

  “Sure boss, I think Santa has booked all the tickets.”

  “Santa?”

  “Middle of November is a bit early to fly to family and get the turkey ready, don’t you think? I’ve still got a whole pile to book, but I just can’t do another one, my eyes are going crossed looking at the screen!”

  “Ok Sharon, go home now. Matt and I will help you in the morning. Ok?”

  “Maybe you should put more planes on some of the routes. And I need at least one more person helping me with the bookings.”

  “We’ll look at it in the morning. I promise.”

  On the way home, I wondered if Aristo was going back to Greece for Christmas, if he wanted to come to Berlin with me or if he wanted to stay put in L.A. Surprisingly, he wanted to come to Berlin with me. I hadn’t reckoned with that.

  The T-bird was something else. There wasn’t that much space, but you didn’t feel hemmed in. When the top was down, you felt more involved with the city about you. Driving the Jag was so different.

  “Is Matt coming to Berlin, too?”

  “Ask him. I can’t imagine that he will. His family is here and it would be quite good to have him looking after the office when I’m not here.”

  Matt was on the Terrace. “Oh there you are. I was out like a light and just surfaced.”

  “Hi Matt! Oli and I are going to Berlin in six weeks. Are you coming?”

  “Over the holidays? No, I don’t want to leave the old man alone. How long are you staying, Oliver?”

  “I was thinking about two weeks.”

  “Hi Aristo, how were the girls today? Who was there?” Matt winked at him.

  “Oh yeah, there were some really cute chicks there, man!”

  “Risto, you definitely pulled the long straw there! Did you see any you like?”

  “Yeah, I’ve just got to convince the boss.”

  “That’s tough one, ‘Risto. You better have a good argument.”

  We fooled around a little, ‘Risto wanted to discuss his choices with me tomorrow in private and I’d already told Matt that we would be involved with customers tomorrow.

  “Chambers? Good morning!” Matt drove us in to work and I was on the phone.

  “Hoffmann, is that you? You’ve got a cheek! I can see your damned mug in every god-dammed travel magazine I pick up!” He laughed. “If you think you’ve got anymore slots coming from me, you're delusional. You can have our Boeing 757s, if you want.”

  The 757s were old and retired from American Airlines, I knew that. And that didn’t interest me. I didn’t want old machines.

  “Chambers, I wanted something else entirely. I wanted two tickets to Berlin.”

  “Of course, you can have those – on the house! That will be fun … You won’t get that far with your 737.” He laughed. “The press is going to have a field day when they find out that our new industry darling is flying with AA.”

  “Chambers, no press, ok? I just want to visit my family.”

  “Don’t be a party-pooper! Ok, I’ll send you two tickets – no problem. What about the 757? Otherwise I’ll give them to the Africans!”

  “How many do you have? And most importantly: What am I goin
g to do with them if I don’t have any god-dammed slots?!”

  “That’s your problem. I’ll send you details of the planes and the tickets. Don’t leave it too long, I need to get rid of them this year and the Africans want them …”

  I couldn’t decide. I wanted a shiny modern fleet and not Chamber’s cast-off husks. On the other hand, I was having a good run and connecting the East Coast with our present network would be strategically ingenious. The planes were designed for that and immediately available. We could take advantage of the hype.

  Aristo went straight into his office and started his interview marathon. I tried to get hold of Ad and glanced at the booking figures. More had come in overnight and I jumped up immediately. Grabbing Matt, we burst in on Sharon, whose red head hung between two screens. “Thank god, the cavalry has arrived. These bookings here have all been automatically confirmed, but somehow aren’t in our seating plan. Now I have to sort it all out manually and the situation with overbooking has got worse, too.”

  Sharon waved us in quickly and we threw ourselves into the bookings like lemmings off a cliff. We couldn’t even start on the manual emails queries, even though that list kept growing, too.

  At two, I called a break. I called up Aristo and asked him to pick up Matt’s Lincoln and my Range Rover from Hollywood.

  I was really happy with my Range Rover. I had forgiven he had such modern lights and more aerodynamic form than the previous, much nicer model. From now on I would sail through L.A.

  “What are you going to do then, Oliver? You have to stay out of day to day activities in order to keep a grasp on the bigger picture. I mean, take your new Range Rover. Yeah, yeah, I know! You ordered it and did you stand at the door of the house waiting for it to be delivered? Or did you fill in your time while you waited?”