经济学人153:机场私有化或成必要趋势

 　　Business

　　商业

　　Airport privatisation

　　机场私有化

　　Runways required

　　跑道待增

　　Private investors¹ can make airports bigger, but not big enough

　　私人投资者能使机场扩大，但尚不够大

　　Down from heaven and into arrival hell

　　自天堂而下至地狱

　　With their crowds, delays and retail² opportunities, airports impart feelings that range from irritation³ to despair.

　　人潮拥挤，班机延误，以及零售商机，机场带给人一种从愤怒乃至绝望的气息。

　　The experience is likely to get worse.

　　这种感受还将变本加厉。

　　Over the next 20 years the number of jets circling the planet is set to double, but investment in airports probably won't.

　　在未来的20年里，环绕地球飞行的喷射机数量定会翻倍，但对机场的投资却不然。

　　In Europe twice as many passengers are expected to squeeze through 41% more capacity.

　　在欧洲，多达两倍的乘客将在只增长41%的机场容量里挤进挤出。

　　One reason why airports are grim is that many are state-owned.

　　机场形势如此严峻的一个原因是，许多机场是国营的。

　　Of the world's 30 busiest ones, 19 are state-owned and most of the rest are public-private partnerships⁴.

　　在世界上最繁忙的30个机场中，就有19个是国有的，余下的许多是公私合营。

　　In the past they were administered rather than managed to serve state-owned airlines,says Andreas Schimm of Airports Council International, an umbrella body.

　　机场的协调组织—国际机场协会ACI的Andreas Schimm说，在过去，机场都是 接受管理而非自主运营，为国营航空公司服务。

　　Governments now try to run airports on commercial lines, but few do it well.

　　如今政府已在机场试营商业航线，但成效不佳。

　　Privatisation could help.

　　私有化也许能为此推波助澜。

　　Incheon and Cheongju airports in South Korea are likely to seek private investors soon.

　　南韩的仁川机场和清州机场可能很快就会寻求私人投资者。

　　So are Munich, Moscow's two smaller airports, France's regional airports and a host of others.

　　慕尼黑机场、莫斯科的两个小机场、法国的一些地区性机场以及其它等地的一众机场，都有可能紧随此流。

　　Even in America, where complicated federal rules discourage either selling or buying airports, a scheme to privatise Chicago Midway and four other airports is picking up speed again.

　　即便是在美国，复杂的联邦制度一向不鼓励买卖机场，将芝加哥中途机场和其余四个机场私有化的计划也加快了进程。

　　In Brazil, however, an effort to woo private cash to spruce up shabby airports before the football World Cup is stalling.

　　但是，在巴西，在足球世界杯前寻求私人资金以重新打造破旧机场的努力已被搁置。

　　An airport ought to be a sound investment.

　　机场必须是一项可观的投资。

　　BAA, which runs Britain's biggest airports, has coined it.

　　BAA，是英国最大机场的持有者，造就了这个观念。

　　Eyebrows⁵ were raised when Macquarie, an Australian bank, bought Sydney airport in 2002.

　　一家澳大利亚银行Macquarie于2002年收购悉尼机场时，人们大为诧异。

　　But it quickly boosted revenues and profits.

　　但这项投资很快就创造了收益和利润。

　　The release value of taking public assets private can be enormous, says Peter Morris of Ascend⁶, a consultancy.

　　咨询机构Ascend的Peter Morris说，购置公共资产的产出值可能是巨大的。

　　Investors could now be more wary⁷, however.

　　然而，投资者现在有理由更谨慎些。

　　Empty public coffers might encourage governments to demand too high a price.

　　空空如也的国库也许促使政府要价更高。

　　The liberalisation of air travel has increased competition between big hubs, especially in Europe and the Gulf⁸.

　　航空旅游的自由化加大了大型机场间的竞争，特别是在欧洲与海湾。

　　And the soaring growth of low-cost airlines has added to the pressure.

　　而且，低成本航线的迅速发展带来了额外的压力。

　　Budget carriers are far more flexible and ruthless than their full-fare competitors.

　　廉价航空公司要比全票价的竞争者更加灵活且不留情面。

　　If business sags⁹ or landing fees rise, they will drop an airport as surely as a baggage-handler will drop a bag marked fragile.

　　如果收益减少或者降落费上涨，投资者将会放弃机场，就如同行李管理者放弃一个标志着易碎的袋子一样毫不犹豫。

　　Privatisation can improve efficiency and service quality.

　　私有化可以改进效率和服务质量。

　　But passengers may face other torments¹⁰. Airports earn just 18% of their revenues from airlines, according to ACI.

　　但乘客也许会遭遇其它苦恼。根据ACI的说法，机场从航空公司的总收入中只赚取到18%。

　　The rest comes from passenger fees, parking charges, rent from retailers¹¹ and so on.

　　其它利润来自于乘客的费用、停车费、零售店的租金等等。

　　Rather than squeezing airlines, which can fly away, it is more tempting¹² to go after passengers, who are hemmed¹³ in by metal detectors¹⁴ and armed police.

　　与其从航空公司中榨取，不如从乘客身上获利，这样做更诱人些，因为前者可以撤离，而后者则受制于金属探测器和武装警察。

　　Airlines grouch¹⁵ that landing fees always rise at privatised airports.

　　航空公司抱怨说，私有化机场的降落费一直都在涨。

　　Giovanni Bisignani, the boss of IATA, a group that represents airlines, argues that the best airports are those with good managers and tough regulators, and that ownership matters less.

　　代表航空公司的组织——国际航空运输协会的老板Giovanni Bisignani辩称，最好的机场是那些配备了上佳管理者和强硬监督者的机场，所有权在谁手里倒是其次。

　　But regulations will surely have to weaken to attract private money.

　　但要想吸引私人资金，规章条例必须得弱化。

　　By some estimates $1 trillion of new investment will be needed over the next two decades to match airport capacity to flight plans.

　　按照一些估算，未来20年里需要1万亿美元的新投资，才能使机场容量与飞行计划相称。

　　Yet there are barely a dozen airport groups that might be tempted¹⁶ to bid for the terminals and runways on the block.

　　然而，仅仅有十多个机场可能会在拍卖中竞购停机场和跑道。

　　They are unlikely to raise enough cash to keep pace with the rising volume of passengers.

　　这些机场不可能筹集得到足够资金去适应不断增长的乘客流量。

　　The queues will only grow longer.

　　机场的排队只会变得更长。

1 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会

2 retail   

v./n.零售；adv.以零售价格

参考例句：

• In this shop they retail tobacco and sweets.这家铺子零售香烟和糖果。
• These shoes retail at 10 yuan a pair.这些鞋子零卖10元一双。

3 irritation   

n.激怒，恼怒，生气

参考例句：

• He could not hide his irritation that he had not been invited.他无法掩饰因未被邀请而生的气恼。
• Barbicane said nothing,but his silence covered serious irritation.巴比康什么也不说，但是他的沉默里潜伏着阴郁的怒火。

4 partnerships   

n.伙伴关系( partnership的名词复数 )；合伙人身份；合作关系

参考例句：

• Partnerships suffer another major disadvantage: decision-making is shared. 合伙企业的另一主要缺点是决定要由大家来作。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件
• It involved selling off limited partnerships. 它涉及到售出有限的合伙权。 来自辞典例句

5 eyebrows   

眉毛( eyebrow的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Eyebrows stop sweat from coming down into the eyes. 眉毛挡住汗水使其不能流进眼睛。
• His eyebrows project noticeably. 他的眉毛特别突出。

6 ascend   

vi.渐渐上升，升高；vt.攀登，登上

参考例句：

• We watched the airplane ascend higher and higher.我们看着飞机逐渐升高。
• We ascend in the order of time and of development.我们按时间和发展顺序向上溯。

7 wary   

adj.谨慎的，机警的，小心的

参考例句：

• He is wary of telling secrets to others.他谨防向他人泄露秘密。
• Paula frowned,suddenly wary.宝拉皱了皱眉头，突然警惕起来。

8 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。

9 sags   

向下凹或中间下陷( sag的第三人称单数 )； 松弛或不整齐地悬着

参考例句：

• The bed sags in the middle, and is uncomfortable. 床的中间往下塌，很不舒服。
• He sags his pants; doo rags and a stockin cap. 他穿着松弛的裤子。抹布一样的帽子。

10 torments   

（肉体或精神上的）折磨，痛苦( torment的名词复数 )； 造成痛苦的事物[人]

参考例句：

• He released me from my torments. 他解除了我的痛苦。
• He suffered torments from his aching teeth. 他牙痛得难受。

11 retailers   

零售商，零售店( retailer的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• High street retailers reported a marked increase in sales before Christmas. 商业街的零售商报告说圣诞节前销售量显著提高。
• Retailers have a statutory duty to provide goods suitable for their purpose. 零售商有为他们提供符合要求的货品的法定义务。

12 tempting   

a.诱人的, 吸引人的

参考例句：

• It is tempting to idealize the past. 人都爱把过去的日子说得那么美好。
• It was a tempting offer. 这是个诱人的提议。

13 hemmed   

缝…的褶边( hem的过去式和过去分词 )； 包围

参考例句：

• He hemmed and hawed but wouldn't say anything definite. 他总是哼儿哈儿的，就是不说句痛快话。
• The soldiers were hemmed in on all sides. 士兵们被四面包围了。

14 detectors   

探测器( detector的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The report advocated that all buildings be fitted with smoke detectors. 报告主张所有的建筑物都应安装烟火探测器。
• This is heady wine for experimenters using these neutrino detectors. 对于使用中微子探测器的实验工作者，这是令人兴奋的美酒。 来自英汉非文学 - 科技

15 grouch   

n.牢骚，不满；v.抱怨

参考例句：

• He's always having a grouch about something.他总是发脾气抱怨这个抱怨那个。
• One of the biggest grouches is the new system of payment.人们抱怨最多的一点就是这种新的支付方式。

16 tempted   

v.怂恿（某人）干不正当的事；冒…的险（tempt的过去分词）

参考例句：

• I was sorely tempted to complain, but I didn't. 我极想发牢骚，但还是没开口。
• I was tempted by the dessert menu. 甜食菜单馋得我垂涎欲滴。