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More And More Airlines Offering Scenic 'Flights To Nowhere'
Imagine arriving at the airport … passing through security … finally boarding your flight and taking off … only to land a few hours later — right back where you started.想象一下,你到达机场,通过安检,终于登机起飞,几个小时后降落——正好回到你出发的地方。No. Your plane didn't have a mechanical issue. You actually bought a plane ticket to nowhere.不。你的飞机没有出现技术故障。事实上,你买了一张不去任何地方的机票。It's a new kind of air travel that's become popular amid the coronavirus pandemic.Tariro Mzezewa, reporter for The New York Times: "We know the airline industry — the travel industry overall — hotels, airlines, trains, has just been decimated by the pandemic. So this offers airlines an opportunity to make some money and also keep staff working."《纽约时报》记者Tariro Mzezewa表示:“我们知道民航业——整个旅游业——酒店、航空公司、火车,都受到了疫情的严重打击。所以这给航空公司提供了一个赚钱的机会,同时也能够让员工继续工作。”A growing number of airlines — including Qantas in Australia, All Nippon Airways in Japan and Starlux in Taiwan — offer flights that take off and touch down at the same airport — without landing anywhere in between.越来越多的航空公司——包括澳大利亚的澳航、日本的全日空和台湾的星莱克斯——提供在同一机场起飞和降落的航班,期间不会在任何目的地降落。Mzezewa: "Barring Australia — for some of the other countries that are doing this successfully — they're small island countries where people have kind of run out of things to do on the ground and they're sort of like, what's the next big thing for me to do that's really cool?"Mzezewa说:“除澳大利亚外——其他一些成功推行这种方案的国家,都是小岛屿国家,他们已经厌倦了地面上的活动,他们有点像,我接下来做什么大事是很酷的?”One man who recently boarded a flight to nowhere on Royal Brunei Airlines called his ticket purchase "a no brainer."最近,一名乘坐皇家文莱航空公司航班的男子称,他完全是“毫不犹豫”就买下了这张机票。Marul Dzaman Ajimain: "I really miss traveling. … I'm one of the strange ones who really loves long-haul flights."Marul Dzaman Ajimain表示:“我真的很想念旅行。我是个很奇怪的人,但我真的很喜欢长途飞行。”Passengers who book these 85-minute "Dine and Fly" tickets are served local cuisine while they fly around Brunei.预订这些85分钟“用餐及飞行”票的乘客在文莱飞行时可以享用当地美食。Not every flight to nowhere is that short, though. Qantas has a seven-hour scenic flight scheduled for Oct. 10 that'll feature views of the Great Barrier Reef, Sydney Harbor and the Uluru monolith. Tickets — which cost between 560 dollars and just over 2,700 dollars — sold out in 10 minutes, according to the airline.然而,并不是每一个无目的地航班的飞行时长都那么短。澳洲航空公司定于10月10日进行一次长达7小时的观光飞行,届时将欣赏大堡礁、悉尼港和乌鲁鲁巨石的美景。据该航空公司称,票价在560美元到2700美元之间的机票在10分钟内全部售罄。The International Air Transport Association predicts the airline industry as a whole will lose 84 dollars billion this year and almost 16 dollars billion in 2021 because of the pandemic.国际航空运输协会预测,受疫情影响,今年整个民航业将损失840亿美元,2021年将损失近160亿美元。But environmental groups say these flights to nowhere should not be the answer for cash-strapped airlines.但环保组织表示,这些无目的地的航班不应该是资金短缺的航空公司的解决方案。Mark Carter, spokesman for Flight Free Australia: "Too many of us are unaware of flying's contribution to the climate crisis. It's the most warming sort-of single thing you could do. And the passengers on Qantas' inaugural flight to nowhere will increase their annual emissions by 10 percent in just seven hours as they fly over the Great Barrier Reef they're helping to destroy because warming is causing these repeated mass bleaching events before the Reef has time to recover."澳大利亚自由航班的发言人马克·卡特表示:“我们很多人都不知道飞行对气候危机的影响。这样做会造成气候变暖。澳洲航空公司首航的乘客在飞越大堡礁的7小时内,他们贡献的年排放量将增加10%。由于气候变暖,大堡礁还没有时间恢复,就不断发生白化现象。”'At least one airline — Singapore Airlines — decided against offering its own scenic flights after backlash over the environmental impact.至少有一家航空公司——新加坡航空公司——在受到环境影响的强烈抵抗后,决定不推出观光航班。Meanwhile, Royal Brunei is using its most fuel-efficient aircraft for its scenic tours, and Qantas indicated it's paying to offset the carbon emissions on its 7-hour flight.与此同时,文莱皇家航空公司正在使用其最省油的飞机来进行观光旅行,澳洲航空公司Qantas表示,该公司将支付费用来抵消其7小时飞行中的碳排放。But in the end, some following this trend don't think it has much longevity.Mzezewa: "I don't think this is something we'll see after the pandemic or when things somewhat go back to normal. … Typically, the planes that are doing this right now are full of passengers who are going places. So it would be quite difficult to try and keep people who are actually traveling to go places on those planes, and then also have these that aren't going anywhere in place."Mzezewa表示:“我觉得在疫情之后,或者当事情某种程度上恢复正常时,我们不会再看到这样的事情。正常情况下,坐在这些飞机上的乘客都要抵达不同的目的地。所以,让那些真正要乘飞机前往特定目的地的人和不打算去任何地方的人同时乘坐这些航班,是非常困难的。”
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