空客首席运营官谈航空产业的未来

 　　空客首席运营官谈航空产业的未来

         There's a reason that there are only two major manufacturers in the world today, Airbus and Boeing, building aircraft, 100 seats and above. It is difficult to do because you don't just need to get the airplane into the air; you have to get within fractions of a percent of the fuel burn predictions, the range, the weights that you've been promising¹ people. And then you've got to do one other thing: you've got to build it reliably. And when it gets into service, it's got to fly with 99.5 percent dispatch reliability².

　　- I'm glad you mentioned those two issues. Let's start out with fuel. Obviously the situation in Syria has led to another spike³ in the fuel prices. This means that fuel efficiency is paramount⁴.

　　-Absolutely. And that's why we're bringing out our A320 family -- that's our single L family -- in the new version, the NEO, New Engine Option. It takes the proven reliability and fuel efficiency of an A320 and it reduces that fuel burn by over 15 percent. When fuel prices go up, it's a bit of a two-edged sword.Yes, the airlines maybe aren't making as much as money, but it drives the need to replace that older kit⁵ with new aircraft, you know, to the fore⁶.

　　-  A380, is that still the answer to the capacity constraints⁷ that we're seeing, particularly in this part of the world?

　　- Absolutely. I'm going out after we finish this interview to Heathrow to get on an airplane -- and you think about that, air traffic doubles in 15 years. I'm going to look around Heathrow and say, how can we get twice as many airplanes in here? You can't. You can't get 20 percent more airplanes at the Heathrow. In fact, you probably can't get 10 percent more in. They're using it to maximum capacity.So what do you do? It has to be bigger aircraft. It has to be.

　　- We're seeing all the catastrophes⁸ surrounding Boeing's problems with the Dreamliner 787.From an industry perspective, what lessons can be learned?

　　- Well, what you have to do is get it right the first time. And the airlines get very frustrated⁹ if you bring them new technology product but the reliability is not there. We're watching the mistakes they're making and hopefully we're not going to make some of the same ones. We had our own mistakes with the A380 program. We stumbled a bit with the reliability at the beginning with that.We've got that fixed¹⁰ now and we're going to great pains right now with our A350 program to make sure it's mature on day one when we deliver at the end of next year. The airlines are unanimous in saying it's not just the numbers in terms of performance; it's the numbers in terms of reliability. We can't afford an airplane that takes five years to get mature in the field.

1 promising   

adj.有希望的，有前途的

参考例句：

• The results of the experiments are very promising.实验的结果充满了希望。
• We're trying to bring along one or two promising young swimmers.我们正设法培养出一两名有前途的年轻游泳选手。

2 reliability   

n.可靠性，确实性

参考例句：

• We mustn't presume too much upon the reliability of such sources.我们不应过分指望这类消息来源的可靠性。
• I can assure you of the reliability of the information.我向你保证这消息可靠。

3 spike   

n.长钉，钉鞋；v.以大钉钉牢，使...失效

参考例句：

• The spike pierced the receipts and held them in order.那个钉子穿过那些收据并使之按顺序排列。
• They'll do anything to spike the guns of the opposition.他们会使出各种手段来挫败对手。

4 paramount   

a.最重要的，最高权力的

参考例句：

• My paramount object is to save the Union and destroy slavery.我的最高目标是拯救美国，摧毁奴隶制度。
• Nitrogen is of paramount importance to life on earth.氮对地球上的生命至关重要。

5 kit   

n.用具包，成套工具；随身携带物

参考例句：

• The kit consisted of about twenty cosmetic items.整套工具包括大约20种化妆用品。
• The captain wants to inspect your kit.船长想检查你的行装。

6 fore   

adv.在前面；adj.先前的；在前部的；n.前部

参考例句：

• Your seat is in the fore part of the aircraft.你的座位在飞机的前部。
• I have the gift of fore knowledge.我能够未卜先知。

7 constraints   

强制( constraint的名词复数 )； 限制； 约束

参考例句：

• Data and constraints can easily be changed to test theories. 信息库中的数据和限制条件可以轻易地改变以检验假设。 来自英汉非文学 - 科学史
• What are the constraints that each of these imply for any design? 这每种产品的要求和约束对于设计意味着什么？ 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓

8 catastrophes   

n.灾祸( catastrophe的名词复数 )；灾难；不幸事件；困难

参考例句：

• Two of history's worst natural catastrophes occurred in 1970. 1970年发生了历史上最严重两次自然灾害。 来自辞典例句
• The Swiss deposits contain evidence of such catastrophes. 瑞士的遗址里还有这种灾难的证据。 来自辞典例句

9 frustrated   

adj.挫败的，失意的，泄气的v.使不成功( frustrate的过去式和过去分词 )；挫败；使受挫折；令人沮丧

参考例句：

• It's very easy to get frustrated in this job. 这个工作很容易令人懊恼。
• The bad weather frustrated all our hopes of going out. 恶劣的天气破坏了我们出行的愿望。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 fixed   

adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的

参考例句：

• Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗？
• Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定，我们就不应该随意改变。