這兩年,明星購買私人飛機(jī)的新聞不斷出現(xiàn),而大部分普通人只有艷羨的份兒。最近,英國一家私人飛機(jī)公司推出特價(jià)服務(wù),向普通乘客出售私人飛機(jī)空駛航段的座位,讓普通人也有機(jī)會(huì)享受私人飛機(jī)旅程。
"Empty legs" are private jet flights where there happens to be nobody on-board, at least not until you come in. Private jet charter firms, realizing that their aircraft have to return to base at some point and often do so without the human cargo they have just ferried somewhere swanky, have taken to offering these return "empty" legs for cut-price rates. They get to make some extra money out of someone's one-way trip, and the consumer gets a cut-price private jet experience – about which more later – and the flexibility to just show up 15 minutes before take-off, get right on board and fly. The one downside, of course, is that empty legs are one-way and you have to get home again
Empty legs指沒有乘客在機(jī)上的私人飛機(jī)航班,即“空駛私人航班”,當(dāng)然,這是在你登機(jī)之前。私人飛機(jī)承包公司發(fā)現(xiàn),他們的飛機(jī)在把乘客送到某個(gè)目的地之后有時(shí)會(huì)空駛飛回基地,于是,他們決定特價(jià)出售這些空駛航段。這樣,他們可以在某個(gè)大人物的單程旅途中額外掙到錢,消費(fèi)者則可以特價(jià)體驗(yàn)一次私人飛機(jī)旅程,而且可以在飛機(jī)起飛前15分鐘到達(dá)機(jī)場,上了飛機(jī)就能起飛。唯一的弊端就是,這些空駛航段都是單程的,你還得自己買票回家。
The big question, then: do you get free champagne once you are on board? Yes! Catering will be available to you as it would be to a regular charter customer. There won't be flight attendants but you will have two pilots and one of them will serve you drinks, champagne and snacks.
重點(diǎn)來了:享受特價(jià)私人飛機(jī)航班時(shí)有免費(fèi)香檳嗎?當(dāng)然!你會(huì)享受到常規(guī)包機(jī)乘客一樣的餐食服務(wù)。機(jī)上沒有空乘人員,不過會(huì)有兩名飛行員,其中一位會(huì)為你提供飲料、香檳及零食。
Result! Which leaves us with the even bigger question: if you happen to be flying on, say, Rod Stewart's private jet, will they tell you that it's his? No, they don't reveal that. Obviously, though, they do belong to famous people. (Source: Guardian)
最后,還有一個(gè)更重要的問題:如果你乘坐的碰巧是,比如Rod Stewart的私人飛機(jī),機(jī)上人員會(huì)告訴你嗎?不,他們不會(huì)透露此類信息。雖然這些私人飛機(jī)的確是屬于那些名人的。
(中國日?qǐng)?bào)網(wǎng)英語點(diǎn)津 Helen)