2010/03/22

Paying to pick seats loathsome, many passengers say 花錢選機位令人討厭,許多乘客說

◎管淑平

Paying for extras has become routine for airline passengers but it doesn’t mean they like it, with a poll showing more than half all travelers hate having to fork out to choose their seat.

對搭機乘客來說,為額外服務多花錢已是司空見慣,但這並不表示他們喜歡這種作法,一份調查顯示,超過 一半的旅客痛恨必須花錢挑座位。

The online poll of nearly 2,000 people by website Airfarwatchdog.com, asked respondents which airline fees they despised the most.

「航空費用守門人」網站針對將近2000人進行網路調查,詢問受訪者最討厭哪一種搭機費用。

Paying for the privilege of picking their seat was the biggest bugbear for 52 percent of respondents, followed by paying to change flights--something which irked a third of passengers.

52%的人最討厭得額外付費才有權選座位,其次是更改班機的費 用,令三分之一的人厭惡。

A minority, or 14 percent, said they didn’t like paying extra for snacks while just 3 percent said they were happy to pay for any extra services.

少數人、或14%的受訪者說,他們不喜歡多花錢買零食,只有3%的人說,他們樂意為了任 何額外服務付費。

George Hobica, president of Airfarewatchdog.com, said there are certain airline services that really do involve added expense, "but assigning a seat, which can be done online for virtually no transaction cost to the airline? it’s simply a way to generate revenue and not to cover a tangible expense. I think passengers realize this and that’s why they’re so annoyed by it."

「航空費用守門人」網站總裁賀比卡說,有一些搭機服務的確 涉及額外開銷,「但是挑選機位可以在網路上完成,並不會造成航空公司任何交易成本,為何也要多花錢?這單純只是要賺錢,而非填補實質開支。我認為乘客了解 這一點,所以才會這麼反感。」

新聞辭典:

loathsome: 形容詞,令人討厭、反感的。例句:Their using dirty tricks in this election is loathsome.(他們在這次選舉中用奧步令人反感。)

fork out:動詞片語,不情願地花錢。例句:He would not fork out thousands of dollars for an expensive meal.(他是不會花好幾千元吃一頓大餐的。)

bugbear: 名詞,令人害怕或煩惱的事物。例句:Paperwork is a bugbear to me.(文書工作是令我煩惱的事。)

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