VOA慢速英语2019 波音737 MAX机型停飞造成航班数无法满足旅客需求

With Boeing 737 Max Grounded, Too Many Travelers, Too Few Planes

Ahead of the summer travel season, airlines in the United States usually compete to sell tickets and fill seats.

在夏季旅行季开始之前，美国的航空公司通常会竞相出售机票填补空位。

But the airlines that operate the grounded Boeing 737 Max planes have a new problem: there are not enough seats to meet the demand.

但是运营停飞的波音737 Max机型的航空公司遇到了一个新难题：没有足够的座位来满足需求。

“The revenue¹ is right in front of them. They can see it, but they can’t meet it,” said Mike Trevino. He is an airline industry expert and spokesman² for Southwest Airlines Pilots Association³.

迈克·特雷维诺（Mike Trevino）是一位航空专家，也是西南航空公司飞行员协会的发言人。他说：“钱就在眼前，看得到却赚不到。”

The grounding of Boeing’s 737 Max came after two deadly crashes in five months.

波音 737 Max机型在5个月内发生两起致命事故之后被停飞。

Southwest Airlines is the world’s largest 737 Max operator⁴. The company has 34 of the planes. American Airlines operates the second-most, with 24. These planes have been removed from use until at least August.

西南航空公司是737 MAX机型全球最大的运营商。该公司拥有34架这类机型。美国航空公司紧随其次，拥有24架。这些飞机至少在8月前没法投入使用。

The grounding of the planes has led Southwest to cancel 160 of its 4,200 daily flights between June 8 and August 5. American Airlines will cancel 115 daily flights, or 1.5 percent of its total summer flights.

这次停飞已经导致西南航空公司取消了6月8日到8月5日期间每天4200架次中的160架次航班。美国航空公司每天将会取消115架次航班，占其夏季航班总数的1.5%。

Southwest only flies Boeing 737s. It had estimated⁶ $150 million in lost revenue between February 20 and March 31 -- mostly because of MAX cancellations.

西南航空公司只有波音737系列机型。该公司估计2月20日到3月31日期间收入损失了1.5亿美元，主要就是因为MAX机型取消。

So far, airlines have said it is too early to estimate⁵ the cost of the Max grounding beyond the first three months. However, continuous⁷ cancellations show that most airlines do not expect a fast return of the MAX model.

到目前为止，各航空公司都已表示，现在估算MAX机型前三个月之后的停飞损失尚为时过早。然而，连续取消航班表明大多数航空公司不希望MAX机型很快复飞。

The 737 Max was grounded worldwide in March following a deadly Ethiopian Airlines crash. It came five months after a Lion Air crash in Indonesia. All on board both planes died.

在3月份埃航发生致命事故之后，波音737 MAX机型在全球停飞。这次停飞发生在狮航航班在印尼坠毁的五个月之后。两架飞机上的所有乘客无一幸免。

Boeing is under pressure to provide additional⁸ software. Experts are examining the original software as a possible reason for the crashes. Boeing must prove to worldwide regulators that the plane is safe to fly. That process may take more than 90 days.

波音公司面临提供额外软件的压力。专家们正在检查原始软件是否是导致坠毁的可能原因。波音公司必须向全球监管机构证明该机型可以安全飞行。该过程可能需要90天以上。

Planes in the United States are usually mostly full during the months of June, July and August. The U.S. Bureau⁹ of Transportation Statistics¹⁰ says this is when airlines earn the most money for each seat. Lowering the number of seats could mean more costly¹¹ summer prices.

美国的飞机在6-8月份通常是满座。美国交通运输统计局表示，这是航空公司每座收入最高的时候。座位数减少可能意味着夏季价格更贵。

United Airlines operates only 14 Max planes and has mostly avoided cancellations. Instead, it has been more of its larger Boeing 777 or 787 airplanes. However, the airline’s president warned last week that the move has been very costly and that it could not continue doing so forever.

美联航只运营了14架MAX机型，并且很大程度上避免了取消。相反它用更大的波音777或787机型来运营。然而该公司总裁上周警告说，这一举措成本非常高，可能无以为继。

Although the MAX 737 makes up just 5 percent of Southwest planes and even less for other airlines, the problem may only get worse. That is because Southwest, American and United all were expecting deliveries¹² of new Max planes soon. Southwest was expecting 41 in 2019, while American was expecting 16 and United was expecting 14.

尽管737 MAX机型只占到西南航空公司飞机的5%，其它航空公司占比更少，但问题可能只会愈发严重。这是因为西南航空公司、美国航空公司以及美联航原本都预期很快会交付新的MAX飞机。西南航空公司2019年原本预期交付41架，美国航空公司预期交付16架，美联航预期交付14架。

I’m Ashley Thompson.

Words in This Story

ticket – n.a piece of paper that allows you to see a show, participate in an event, travel on a vehicle

revenue – n.money that is made by or paid to a business or an organization

software – n. the programs that run on a computer and perform certain functions

original - adj. the first, or one of a kind

1 revenue   

n.总收入，财政收入，税收；税务局

参考例句：

• The country diminished the revenue by reducing tax.这个国家通过减税而使税收减少了。
• A government's revenue and expenditure should be balanced.政府的财政收入和支出要平衡。

2 spokesman   

n.发言人，代言人

参考例句：

• The government spokesman gave a quick briefing to the reporters.政府发言人向记者们作了情况简介。
• They drew lots to decide who should be their spokesman.他们抽签决定谁是他们的发言人。

3 association   

n.联盟，协会，社团；交往，联合；联想

参考例句：

• Our long association with your company has brought great benefits.我方和贵公司的长期合作带来了巨大的利益。
• I broke away from the association ten years ago.我10年前就脱离了那个团体。

4 operator   

n.（机器、设备等的）操作员；电话接线员

参考例句：

• He is a computer operator.他是个电脑操作员。
• The telephone operator connected us.话务员给我们接通了电话。

5 estimate   

n.估计，估量；评价，看法；vt.估计，估量

参考例句：

• We estimate the cost to be five thousand dollars.我们估计费用为5000美元。
• The lowest estimate would put the worth of the jewel at ＄200.按最低的评估这块宝石也值200美元。

6 estimated   

adj．根据估计的

参考例句：

• She estimated the breadth of the lake to be 500 metres. 她估计湖面大约有500米宽。
• The man estimated for the repair of the car. 那人估算了修理汽车的费用。

7 continuous   

adj.继续的，连续的，持续的，延伸的

参考例句：

• She finally got in after 10 years'continuous effort.坚持不懈地努力了十年后，她终于当选了。
• We must be continuous to study.我们必须不断学习。

8 additional   

adj.添加的，额外的，另外的

参考例句：

• It is necessary to set down these additional rules.有必要制定这些补充规则。
• I think we can fit in an additional room.我想我们可以再加建一间房子。

9 bureau   

n.提供或收集消息的机构；局，司，处；署

参考例句：

• The weather bureau makes daily reports on weather conditions.气象局每天报告天气状况。
• The Tourist Bureau arranged everything for our journey to Rome.旅游局已为我们去罗马旅行准备了一切。

10 statistics   

n.统计，统计数字，统计学

参考例句：

• We have statistics for the last year.我们有去年的统计资料。
• Statistics is taught in many colleges.许多大学都教授统计学。

11 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。

12 deliveries   

投递( delivery的名词复数 )； [法律]（正式）交付； 分娩； 表演

参考例句：

• Deliveries of mail could be delayed because of cost-cutting. 由于削减成本，邮件的递送可能会延迟。
• We have developed rapid order processing to expedite deliveries to customers. 我们已创造了快速处理订单的方法以便迅速将货物送达顾客。