经济学人457:印度航空业 在低迷中飞行

 　　Business.

　　商业。

　　Air India.

　　印度航空业。

　　Flying low.

　　在低迷中飞行。

　　India's flag carrier is in big trouble.

　　印度国家航空公司有大麻烦了。

　　WELL-TO-DO Indian graduates used to line up to join Air India. The national carrier was founded in 1932 and nicknamed the Maharajah. Singapore and Malaysia sought its advice when setting up their state airlines in the 1970s, as a former director recalls. "This was a temple of modern India," he sighs.

　　印度的优秀毕业生曾经排着队要加入印度航空公司。这一国家航空公司成立于1932年，外号"大君 "。根据一位前任主管回忆，上世纪70年代，新加坡和马来西亚在创立自己国家的航空公司时，都曾向印度航空咨询意见。他叹息道："它曾经是现代印度的神殿。"

　　Today the Maharajah is looking shabby. Air India made an estimated loss of $1.45 billion in the 2011-12 fiscal¹ year, according to the Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation (CAPA), a consultancy. That was nearly three-quarters of the losses made by all Indian carriers combined. Air India has not made a net profit for six years. Its losses have ballooned since a disastrous² 2007 merger³ with Indian Airlines, its state-owned counterpart for domestic routes (see chart). The union has sparked spats-the latest pilots' strike, which ended on July 3rd, cost almost $120m. The government bailed⁴ out the merged⁵ firm with $5.8 billion in April, after a $3.5 billion debt restructuring last year.

　　如今，"大君"看起来十分落魄。根据亚太航空中心（CAPA）咨询公司的数据，印度航空公司在2011-12财务年度的预计亏损为14.5亿美元。这几乎是印度所有航空公司亏损总额的四分之三。印度航空公司已经连续六年没有创造净利润了。自从2007年与印度人航空公司——专营国内航线的国有航空公司——的一次灾难性合并以来，印度航空公司的亏损额不断增长（见图表）。这一联合引起了一些小争端——七月三日刚刚结束的最新飞行员罢工事件，造成了近1.2亿美元的损失。继去年35亿美元的债务重组后，政府在四月份又拨款58亿美元给这一合并公司帮其渡过难关。

　　Yet the government is unlikely to give up on the combined carriers, whose share of the domestic flight market has dropped from 42% to 16% over the past decade. It would be hard to attract a buyer. Air India spends over a quarter of its operating revenue on employees' pay and benefits; Jet Airways⁶, a domestic rival, spends a tenth. The board approved a voluntary-retirement scheme for 5,000 staff this month, but needs the government's approval. The Maharajah is even thinking of selling its art collection.

　　但政府现在不大可能放弃这一联合航空公司，在过去十年里，印度航空公司在国内航空市场的份额从42%下降至16%。这样的情形很难吸引购买者。印度航空在雇员的薪水和福利上用掉了超过四分之一的营业收益。而捷特航空，印度航空公司的一个国内竞争者，花费的比例仅为十分之一。董事会这个月为5000名员工批准了一个自愿退休方案，但这一方案仍需要政府的批准。"大君"甚至在考虑出售它的艺术收藏品。

　　Air India keeps ticket prices uneconomically low. When it slashed⁷ prices last year, it forced others to follow suit. That, and India's high taxes on aviation fuel, make it hard for any airline to earn money. Only one of India's six carriers, Indigo⁸, a budget airline, is expected to post a profit this year. Some blame the rise of Gulf⁹ airlines on international routes. "Emirates is now the national airline of India. That's what people say," sighs the retired¹⁰ Air India man.

　　印度航空公司保持着不经济的低票价。去年，当它大幅下调票价时，它迫使市场中其它航空公司跟进。这一行为，连同印度对航空燃料收取的高额税费，使得航空公司赚钱异常困难。在印度六家航空公司中，只有靛蓝航空这一家廉价航空公司，在今年有望盈利。有些人把原因归为海湾地区一些航空公司在国际航线上的崛起。"阿联酋航空目前是大家公认的印度国家航空公司。"这位印度航空公司退休的职员叹息道。

1 fiscal   

adj.财政的，会计的，国库的，国库岁入的

参考例句：

• The increase of taxation is an important fiscal policy.增税是一项重要的财政政策。
• The government has two basic strategies of fiscal policy available.政府有两个可行的财政政策基本战略。

2 disastrous   

adj.灾难性的，造成灾害的；极坏的，很糟的

参考例句：

• The heavy rainstorm caused a disastrous flood.暴雨成灾。
• Her investment had disastrous consequences.She lost everything she owned.她的投资结果很惨，血本无归。

3 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。

4 bailed   

保释，帮助脱离困境( bail的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Fortunately the pilot bailed out before the plane crashed. 飞机坠毁之前，驾驶员幸运地跳伞了。
• Some water had been shipped and the cook bailed it out. 船里进了些水，厨师把水舀了出去。

5 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。

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 slashed   

v.挥砍( slash的过去式和过去分词 )；鞭打；割破；削减

参考例句：

• Someone had slashed the tyres on my car. 有人把我的汽车轮胎割破了。
• He slashed the bark off the tree with his knife. 他用刀把树皮从树上砍下。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 indigo   

n.靛青，靛蓝

参考例句：

• The sky was indigo blue,and a great many stars were shining.天空一片深蓝，闪烁着点点繁星。
• He slipped into an indigo tank.他滑落到蓝靛桶中。

9 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

10 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。