客機越飛越慢？航企爲規避賠償，對航班時間進行“增肥”
過去十年，飛行技術不斷髮展，但是飛機的飛行速度卻似乎“變慢”了。調查發現，英國航空公司公佈的航線計劃飛行時間越來越長，並聲稱這是爲了改善準點率。不光是英國，爲了規避航班延誤賠償而對航班時間進行“增肥”已經成爲全球慣例，導致乘客面臨在飛機上乾等或無人接機等尷尬狀況。我們來看英國《衛報》的報道：
Plane journeys are taking longer than a decade ago, according to a report that claims the change is down to airlines “padding” their schedules to create the impression passengers were reaching their destinations on time.
與十年前相比，坐飛機出行的時間變長了。一份報告聲稱，這一變化是因爲航空公司對它們的航班時刻表進行了“增肥”，以製造乘客按時抵達目的地的印象。
Carriers are adding extra time to flight schedules, in some cases up to 30 minutes, to ensure they maintain punctuality and are therefore less likely to be liable for compensation payouts, the investigation by Which? Travel claimed.
消費者雜誌《Which? Travel》進行調查後聲稱，航空公司將航班時刻表延長，在某些情況下，延長最高達到30分鐘，以確保它們能夠保持航班準點，由此，它們對乘客承擔賠償責任的機率也降低了。
The majority of flight routes are advertised as taking longer than 10 years ago, despite improvements in aircraft technology, the report found.
《Which? Travel》的報告發現，儘管這些年來飛機技術改進，但大部分公佈的航線飛行時間卻比10年前長了。
Researchers examined average flight times for 125 routes operated by large airlines in 2009 and compared them with last year. They found that 76 routes, 61%, were now slated to take longer; with 87% of British Airways flights analyzed found to be slower. That proportion was 82% for Ryanair, 75% for Virgin Atlantic and 62% for easyJet.
研究人員分析了2009年大型航空公司運營的125條航線的平均飛行時間，並將它們與去年的數據進行對比。結果發現，有76條航線，也就是61%的航線，現在的飛行時間變長了。對英國航空的航班進行分析後發現，英航87%的航班變慢了。瑞安航空、維珍大西洋航空和易捷航空飛行時間增加的航班佔比分別爲82%、75%和62%。
BA flights from Heathrow to Bangkok, New York and Singapore were extended by 20 minutes, and a Virgin Atlantic flight from Heathrow to Newark Liberty airport now takes an average of 35 minutes longer.
英航希思羅飛曼谷、紐約和新加坡的航班延長了20分鐘，維珍大西洋航空從希思羅飛紐瓦克自由機場的航班現在平均飛行時間增加了35分鐘。
Rory Boland, Which? travel editor, said: “Passengers are likely to feel that schedule padding is another case of airlines pulling the wool over their eyes.
《Which? Travel》主編羅裏·博蘭表示：“乘客很可能會覺得，航班時刻表‘增肥’是航空公司對乘客耍的新把戲。”
"Carriers are quick to claim that adding 10, 20 and even 30 minutes to flights will improve on-time performance. The accompanying slump in punctuality over recent years suggests it hasn’t helped much.
“航空公司聲稱，將航班時間增加10、20甚至是30分鐘，將會改善準點率。但近年來準點率的下滑表明這樣做並未起到多大作用。”
"Instead, longer scheduled flight times are likely to mean passengers spend more time sitting around at the gate or on the plane itself, just so the airline can pat itself on the back for being ‘on time’ at your destination.
“相反，更長的計劃飛行時間很可能意味着乘客要花更多的時間坐在登機口附近或飛機上面，這樣航空公司就可以自誇保證了‘航班準點’。”
"Conveniently, it could also reduce the number of instances when an airline has to pay you compensation for a flight delay.”
“另外，這樣也可以減少航空公司因爲航班延誤而向乘客支付賠償的情況。”
According to Which?, BA, easyJet and Ryanair were all less punctual last year than in 2009, with easyJet recording a 10% fall in punctuality during the eight-year period.
據《Which?》雜誌的數據顯示，英航、易捷和瑞安去年的準點率都低於2009年，易捷在八年間的準點率下降了10%。
Airlines told the consumer magazine their aircraft were flying at slower speeds to reduce fuel consumption and that this allowed them to offer cheaper fares.
英國航企們表示，它們的飛機飛行速度變慢是爲了減少燃油消耗，而且這樣一來他們還可以提供更便宜的機票。
BA also told Which? that air traffic control congestion was a factor, with European skies now much busier than 10 years ago.
英航還對《Which?》雜誌表示，空中交通擁堵也是一個因素，與十年前相比，歐洲空域現在要繁忙得多。
European Union rules stipulate that passengers can claim up to €600 if their flights is delayed by more than three hours; however, airlines do not have to compensate travellers for circumstances outside their control, such as bad weather.
歐盟法規規定，如果航班延誤超過三小時，乘客最高可以索賠600歐元（4781元人民幣）。但是，對於超出航空公司控制的情形，比如惡劣天氣，航空公司無需對旅客進行賠償。
爲了規避航班延誤，免於賠償，航空公司故意延長航班時間這一招已經成了全球的“慣例”，也由此帶來了一系列“怪象”，引發乘客不滿。最常見的就是飛機“提前到達”，導致接機“不及時”。比如本來按照正常飛行可以11時到的飛機，在機票上卻打成11時30分到，結果飛機飛行正常了，就會出現“提前到”。
更長的計劃飛行時間意味着許多航空公司會上演“關艙門遊戲”。機票上載明的航班時間是飛機關艙門時間，不是飛機起飛的時間；而飛機關閉艙門後，滑行到跑道，等到起飛指令起飛，還需要一段時間。這種按照關艙門計算航班時間的方式是國際慣例。有業內人士透露，只要關了艙門，飛機再延誤就與航空公司無關了。也就是說，關閉艙門後出現的飛機延誤，一般航空公司不予理賠。這樣一來，乘客很有可能會在機艙裏“乾等”。
所以，航班準點率高，有時候僅僅是“看上去很美”。
