经济学人183:航空公司联盟 高空俱乐部

 　　Business

　　商业报道

　　Airline alliances

　　航空公司联盟

　　The airmiles-high clubs

　　高空俱乐部

　　Three airline alliances cover most of the world—where do they go next?

　　三家航空公司联盟已然覆盖了整个世界-接下来何去何从呢？

　　FOR businesspeople who spend much of their time in the air, the three global airline clubs—Star Alliance, oneworld and SkyTeam—are all about such goodies as frequent-flyer points and access to comfy lounges.

　　对于那些成天飞来飞去的商务人士来说，提到星空联盟、环宇一家、天合联盟这三家全球航空俱乐部就意味着飞行常客奖励点数和贵宾室待遇。

　　For the airlines that belong to them, the main benefit is that the other members hook them up with lots of passengers seeking connecting flights, helping¹ them to fill their planes.

　　而对于那些航空公司联盟成员而言，最大的好处就是联盟成员可以相互之间把那些转机乘客的航线关联起来，来增加客座率。

　　Since the alliances started in the late 1990s, they have steadily² signed up new members.

　　航空联盟成立于90年代后期，并不断稳定的发展新的联盟成员。

　　Until recently SkyTeam, which includes Air France, KLM and Delta³, was the laggard⁴.

　　虽然最近天合联盟发展慢了下来，但它已经收获颇丰，

　　But it has gained altitude by signing, among others, China Eastern and China Southern, two of China's big three carriers.

　　尤其是签了中国三大航空巨头其中的两家，中国东方航空公司和中国南方航空公司。

　　Star Alliance, which includes Lufthansa, United-Continental and Singapore Airlines, remains⁵ the biggest, having signed up Air China, the third of the mainland's big three.

　　星空联盟依然是规模最大的，包括了德国汉莎航空公司、美国联合航空及大陆航空联营公司、新加坡航空公司，并签约了大陆三巨头之一的中国国际航空公司。

　　One world, which includes British Airways⁶, American Airlines, Iberia and Cathay Pacific, will soon welcome aboard India's Kingfisher.

　　环宇一家则包括英国航空公司、美国航空公司、利比亚航空公司以及国泰航空公司，同时也即将迎来印度翠鸟航空的加盟。

　　Now there are few big network airlines left to be nabbed.

　　现如今剩下的几家拥有大型航空网络的航空公司成了抢手货。

　　The juiciest prize still on offer is LATAM, a giant to be formed next year through a merger⁷ of Brazil's TAM and Chile's LAN, which will dominate the skies of South America.

　　最让人垂涎欲滴的就是拉美航空公司，是将在明年由巴西天马航空公司和智利航空公司合并成的一个庞然大物，并成为南美洲天空的霸主。

　　TAM now belongs to Star and LAN to one world, but regulators will force the merged⁸ carrier to choose.

　　现在天马航空是星空联盟的成员而智利航空是环宇一家的成员，但是监管机构将强制合并后的公司选择其中一家联盟。

　　Star has already signed up two Latin American rivals, AviancaTaca and Copa, but it is not impossible to imagine it jilting either of these, if that were necessary to be allowed to admit LATAM.

　　尽管星空联盟已经签约了拉美航空市场的另外两个玩家，中美洲航空公司和巴拿马航空公司，但是不难想象的是为了拉美航空公司的加盟，如果必要的话星空联盟将舍弃其中一家。

　　One world needs LATAM even more: as the only alliance to lack a member in mainland China, it cannot afford to drop two BRICs.

　　环宇一家更是对拉美航空公司青眼有加，因为作为唯一一个没有中国大陆航空公司加盟的航空联盟，它无法承担失去两个金砖四国成员的航空市场。

　　In India's big but chaotic⁹ market, oneworld is sorted, but Star and SkyTeam are said to be chasing Jet Airways.

　　印度是一个巨大而混乱的市场，环宇一家还在考察，但据说星空联盟和天合联盟已开始争夺捷特航空公司。

　　Star spent years negotiating with Air India, the deeply troubled flag-carrier, but suspended talks in July.

　　星空联盟已经花费数年和陷入运营困境的国家航运公司-印度航空公司谈判，但是7月份的时候却中止了对话。

　　The Arabian Gulf's three “superconnectors”—Emirates, Etihad and Qatar—are unsigned, but are growing so quickly that they see little need for allies.

　　阿拉伯海湾的三家“超级网络”却没签约加盟，包括酋长国航空公司、阿提哈德航空和卡塔尔航空，它们迅速扩张似乎并不怎么需要联盟。

　　That leaves just a few independent carriers with long-haul networks.

　　那么就剩下为数不多的几家拥有长途航线的航运公司可选择了。

　　Virgin¹⁰ Atlantic is one: its bid to buy bmi, Lufthansa's money-losing British offshoot, seems to have failed, with BA's parent company the likely buyer.

　　英国维珍大西洋航空公司就是其中一家，它对英伦航空的竞标看起来是没戏了，因为英国航空公司的母公司想要收构英伦航空。

　　The question is whether Virgin can continue in splendid isolation¹¹ when all around it are in cosy¹² co-operation.

　　关键是维珍航空还能继续光荣独立么，而周遭都是安逸的协同合作。

　　Somewhat like the European Union, the alliances have “variable geometry”:

　　这有些像欧盟，联盟采用“可变机翼”的原则：

　　members do not have to join all initiatives, and non-members sometimes take part in selected activities.

　　联盟成员不必响应所有的活动，而非联盟成员则可以参加特定的活动。

　　Each alliance has at its core a group of carriers which pool their flights in the huge transatlantic market.

　　在巨大的跨大西洋市场里，每个联盟都有自己的一组核心成员把各自的班机放在一起联合运营。

　　America's Department of Transportation has given these ventures immunity¹³ from antitrust prosecution¹⁴.

　　美国交通运输部给予这些合企业反垄断起诉的豁免权。

　　The European Commission has approved oneworld's transatlantic venture, with conditions, but is still investigating the other two.

　　欧盟委员会已经有条件的批准了环宇一家的跨大西洋合资公司，但还在审查另外两家的申请。

　　A report by London-based Aviation Economics notes that the transatlantic ventures are a good source of profits in an otherwise hard market—but if they start to look too successful, regulators may get tougher.

　　一份来自伦敦航空经济研究报告所示，跨大西洋合资公司在竞争激烈的市场能有效的产生利润，但一旦它们过分高调的话，监管机构就会变得强硬起来。

　　The alliances have encouraged their members to co-operate on such things as buying cabin interiors, to obtain better prices from suppliers.

　　这些联盟都鼓励它们的成员通类似于团购座舱内饰等方式来合作，以便从供应商处获得更便宜的价格。

　　But progress is slow: only a handful of Star members are taking part in its project to buy aircraft seats jointly¹⁶.

　　但是进展却很缓慢，只有很少量的星空联盟的成员参与了这个项目来联合购买飞机座位。

　　A consultant¹⁷ to one of the alliances says he has spent two years trying to persuade its members to agree on a joint¹⁵ check-in desk at one airport.

　　一位来自其中一个联盟的的咨询顾问声称他用了2年的时间尝试去说服联盟成员在机场建立一个联合登机手续办理窗口。

　　SkyTeam's boss, Michael Wisbrun,

　　而天合联盟的老板迈克尔?威斯布伦说，

　　says even simple stuff like this saves a lot of money, so he is urging his member airlines to make it their priority.

　　类似于这些看似简单的改变将节省大笔费用; 因此他一直敦促其联盟成员优先去做这些事情。

　　As the alliances struggle both to broaden and deepen further, they face being unpicked by their customers, as ever more of them build their own flight itineraries¹⁸ using online portals, which can result in big savings¹⁹.

　　这些航空联盟都在尽力拓宽拓深其业务领域，然而他们却要面临客户流失的问题，因为越来越多的人通过在线网站来安排自己的飞行旅程来节省开销。

　　Oneworld's boss, Bruce Ashby, says the alliances are aimed at offering seamless service to business flyers who care more about convenience than price.

　　环宇一家的老板布鲁斯.阿什比声称联盟志在为那些视便捷性甚于价格的商务人士提供无缝服务。

　　The trouble is, such passengers are also sensitive to the big variations that still exist between each alliance's member airlines.

　　不过麻烦的是，这类乘客对于同一个联盟内的不同航空公司的巨大差异非常敏感。

　　Those used to plush Asian and European business-class cabins are often dismayed when they transfer to their airline's American alliance partner, where the service is poorer and—horrors—the seats don't always convert to fully²⁰ flat beds.

　　那些习惯于亚洲和欧洲的豪华商务舱的人士，当他们被转到联盟内的美国航班时总是很失望，因为这些航班服务很差而且更恼火的的是有时候座椅居然不能转成躺椅模式。

　　1.alliance n.联盟；联姻

　　They broke up the alliance.

　　他们中止了联盟。

　　2.frequent a.频繁的；经常的

　　My girlfriend writes frequent letters to me.

　　我的女朋友频繁地给我写信。

　　3.lounge n.休息室；候机室；起居室

　　We watched television in the hotel lounge.

　　我们在旅馆休息室里看电视。

　　4.carrier n.航空母舰；运输工具

　　The missile was launched from the aircraft carrier.

　　导弹是从航空母舰上发射的。

　　5.network n.网点；网络

　　The fabrics²¹ are merchandised through a network of dealers²².

　　通过经销网点销售纺织品。

1 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

2 steadily   

adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地

参考例句：

• The scope of man's use of natural resources will steadily grow.人类利用自然资源的广度将日益扩大。
• Our educational reform was steadily led onto the correct path.我们的教学改革慢慢上轨道了。

3 delta   

n.（流的）角洲

参考例句：

• He has been to the delta of the Nile.他曾去过尼罗河三角洲。
• The Nile divides at its mouth and forms a delta.尼罗河在河口分岔，形成了一个三角洲。

4 laggard   

n.落后者；adj.缓慢的，落后的

参考例句：

• In village,the laggard living condition must be improved.在乡村落后的生活条件必须被改善。
• Businesshas to some degree been a laggard in this process.商业在这个进程中已经慢了一拍。

5 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

6 AIRWAYS   

航空公司

参考例句：

• The giant jets that increasingly dominate the world's airways. 越来越称雄于世界航线的巨型喷气机。
• At one point the company bought from Nippon Airways a 727 jet. 有一次公司从日本航空公司买了一架727型喷气机。

7 merger   

n.企业合并，并吞

参考例句：

• Acceptance of the offer is the first step to a merger.对这项提议的赞同是合并的第一步。
• Shareholders will be voting on the merger of the companies.股东们将投票表决公司合并问题。

8 merged   

（使）混合( merge的过去式和过去分词 )； 相融； 融入； 渐渐消失在某物中

参考例句：

• Turf wars are inevitable when two departments are merged. 两个部门合并时总免不了争争权限。
• The small shops were merged into a large market. 那些小商店合并成为一个大商场。

9 chaotic   

adj.混沌的，一片混乱的，一团糟的

参考例句：

• Things have been getting chaotic in the office recently.最近办公室的情况越来越乱了。
• The traffic in the city was chaotic.这城市的交通糟透了。

10 virgin   

n.处女，未婚女子；adj.未经使用的；未经开发的

参考例句：

• Have you ever been to a virgin forest?你去过原始森林吗？
• There are vast expanses of virgin land in the remote regions.在边远地区有大片大片未开垦的土地。

11 isolation   

n.隔离，孤立，分解，分离

参考例句：

• The millionaire lived in complete isolation from the outside world.这位富翁过着与世隔绝的生活。
• He retired and lived in relative isolation.他退休后，生活比较孤寂。

12 cosy   

adj.温暖而舒适的，安逸的

参考例句：

• We spent a cosy evening chatting by the fire.我们在炉火旁聊天度过了一个舒适的晚上。
• It was so warm and cosy in bed that Simon didn't want to get out.床上温暖而又舒适，西蒙简直不想下床了。

13 immunity   

n.优惠；免除；豁免，豁免权

参考例句：

• The law gives public schools immunity from taxation.法律免除公立学校的纳税义务。
• He claims diplomatic immunity to avoid being arrested.他要求外交豁免以便避免被捕。

14 prosecution   

n.起诉，告发，检举，执行，经营

参考例句：

• The Smiths brought a prosecution against the organizers.史密斯家对组织者们提出起诉。
• He attempts to rebut the assertion made by the prosecution witness.他试图反驳原告方证人所作的断言。

15 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

16 jointly   

ad.联合地，共同地

参考例句：

• Tenants are jointly and severally liable for payment of the rent. 租金由承租人共同且分别承担。
• She owns the house jointly with her husband. 她和丈夫共同拥有这所房子。

17 consultant   

n.顾问；会诊医师，专科医生

参考例句：

• He is a consultant on law affairs to the mayor.他是市长的一个法律顾问。
• Originally,Gar had agreed to come up as a consultant.原来，加尔只答应来充当我们的顾问。

18 itineraries   

n.旅程，行程( itinerary的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Submit weekly status reports and monthly itineraries to Region Vice President. 每周递交工作报告，每月递交工作计划给总经理。 来自互联网
• Big Ticket ItemsBig Savings-Complex international itineraries can offer opportunities for significant savings. 复杂线路节省更多：复杂的国际航线其实有更多的省钱机会。 来自互联网

19 savings   

n.存款，储蓄

参考例句：

• I can't afford the vacation,for it would eat up my savings.我度不起假，那样会把我的积蓄用光的。
• By this time he had used up all his savings.到这时，他的存款已全部用完。

20 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

21 fabrics   

织物( fabric的名词复数 )； 布； 构造； （建筑物的）结构（如墙、地面、屋顶）：质地

参考例句：

• cotton fabrics and synthetics 棉织物与合成织物
• The fabrics are merchandised through a network of dealers. 通过经销网点销售纺织品。

22 dealers   

n.商人( dealer的名词复数 )；贩毒者；毒品贩子；发牌者

参考例句：

• There was fast bidding between private collectors and dealers. 私人收藏家和交易商急速竞相喊价。
• The police were corrupt and were operating in collusion with the drug dealers. 警察腐败，与那伙毒品贩子内外勾结。