Hi there! 歡迎收聽 Look Back Sunday 回顧星期天，在這個節目 John 老師會彙整過去不同國家與主題的熱門跟讀文章，讓你可以在十五分鐘內吸收最精華的世界時事趣聞！我們這週聽聽航空相關的文章，Let's get started! Topic 1: Airlines targeting post-pandemic 'revenge travel' The blow caused to the airline industry by the COVID-19 pandemic has been especially felt by budget airlines, which mostly operate narrow-bodied passenger jets and have therefore been unable to develop a sideline in air freight during the pandemic. According to one academic's analysis, when the outbreak stabilizes, businesses are targeting a trend in so-called "revenge travel." However, she also hopes that, rather than the pre-pandemic price wars between budget airlines, the consolidation that has taken place during the pandemic will restore healthy competition in the industry. 疫情衝擊航空界，其中廉航受限於機隊多為窄體客機，無法發展貨運，受疫情衝擊更大。學者分析，業者瞄準疫情穩定後的「報復性出遊」，但也希望疫情前廉航削價競爭的情況，能因疫情重整，回歸良性競爭。 According to associate professor Melody Dai of National Cheng Kung University's Department of Transportation and Communication Management Science, costs per flight have not changed during the pandemic, but if carriers are required to implement social-distancing seating plans, leaving empty seats between passengers, this would eat into airlines' profit margins, causing a fresh headache for the industry. Dai says she hopes that budget airlines will manage to survive, since they help stimulate Taiwan's domestic tourism sector as well as the wider economy. 成大交通管理學系副教授戴佐敏說，每航班成本不變、但座位未來若須採間隔座導致收入減少，確實是疫後的難題，希望廉航仍有生存空間，對促進觀光與經濟有正面幫助。 Dai says that choosing to operate flights during the pandemic is a test of airlines' ability to sustain losses, but the crisis may also prove to be a turnaround for the industry. Dai says there are many variables to the pandemic. She says that once the outbreak stabilizes, if the demand for "revenge travel" exceeds supply, this could resolve the pre-pandemic situation of supply exceeding demand, which led to price wars among budget airlines. The consolidation that the pandemic has triggered within the airline industry could bring about a return to healthy competition, says Dai. 戴佐敏認為，選擇在疫情期間開航，考驗航空公司「虧本」的能力，不過危機也有可能是轉機，疫情仍有變數，疫情穩定後的「報復性出遊」若需求大於供給，疫情前廉航供過於求、削價競爭的情況，這次可能因疫情重整，回歸良性競爭。 One industry insider stated that, despite the lockdowns and reduced number of travelers and flights during the pandemic, the industry is bullish about post-pandemic prospects for both freight and passenger travel in the flourishing Asian region. The insider added that a trend in "revenge travel" could cause short-haul routes to become particularly busy. 業者指出，雖然國境仍然封鎖，疫情期間每週班次不多，旅客也非常少，但看好疫情後亞洲旺盛的物流、人流，預估疫情趨緩後將出現「報復性出遊」，亞洲短程航線將會更繁忙。 Topic 2: Rebranding is beneficial to China Airlines. Here's why Taiwan's Legislative Yuan voted on Wednesday to work towards renaming China Airlines, one of the national air carriers. Such a proposal immediately prompted various questions: Would doing so be prohibitively expensive? Would the airline lose aviation rights as a result of the act? 台灣的立法院於 7 月 22 日表決通過建議將台灣最大的國際航空公司之一：「中華航空公司」（China Airlines）的英文名稱更名。這樣的提議，立即引發了各種疑問：這樣做的成本是否過高？中華航空公司是否會因此喪失航權？ The airline industry is unimaginably complex, so there is no definite answer to such a nuanced topic. While the issue of renaming Taiwan's national airline is inherently controversial, let us move away from political polarization and analyze what is best for China Airlines, from a business perspective. 航空業的複雜程度超乎想像，故難以提供此細微議題絕對明確的答案。雖然，把台灣的國籍航空「中華航空公司 China Airlines」更改英文名字，會有非常大的爭議，但讓我們暫時撇開政治上的兩極化角度，而從商業的角度分析，什麼才是對中華航空公司最有利的。 Firstly, if China Airlines were to rebrand itself to reflect a more Taiwanese identity, it is undeniable that the airline would incur costs. This is because airlines logos appear everywhere: from check-in counters, lounges, to even the napkins passengers use onboard. So yes, it would be a significant investment for China Airlines to repaint their planes to rebrand across their network. 首先，如果中華航空公司想重塑品牌形象，彰顯其隸屬於台灣國籍航空的品牌辨識度，一定會產生相對的成本。這是因為航空公司的標誌無所不在：從登機櫃檯到貴賓室，甚至是乘客在機上所使用的餐巾紙上都能看見。因此，對於中華航空公司來說，重新彩繪噴漆飛機機身並全面重塑品牌，勢必需要投入相當的資金支出。 However, an airline's profitability is as much determined by revenue than it is affected by costs. In the long term, if an airline is able to attract more customers than now, such rebranding efforts would pay off. 但是，考量一家航空公司的將來的利潤及是否賺錢，未來營業收入成長的重要性，和考量成本支出，是一樣重要的。從長遠來看，如果航空公司能夠在未來吸引到比現在更多的乘客，這項品牌重塑計畫就值得。 Rebranding China Airlines could address previous issues. For example, many people in English-speaking countries believe the word "China" has negative connotations, and they don't associate the airline with Taiwan when they hear about "China" Airlines. 更改中華航空公司的英文名稱「China」可解決過往的一些問題。例如，許多英語系國家的人認為「China」一詞帶有負面含義，且他們聽到「China Airlines」時，也無法將其與台灣連結在一起。 In addition, China Airlines is often confused with Air China, which is owned by the Chinese government. In recent years, safety and service incidents associated with Air China have damaged the Taiwanese airline's reputation, as the majority of the world simply cannot tell the two carriers apart, largely due to the confusing naming. 此外，中華航空（China Airlines）經常被與中國政府擁有的中國國際航空（Air China）混淆。近年來，因為名字上的混淆，全球大多數人無法區分這兩家航空公司。因此，與中國國際航空相關的飛安意外事故和客服事件，皆損害了台灣國籍航空公司的聲譽。 On the other hand, CAL's main competitor, EVA Air, is well known as a Taiwanese company offering high standards of flight safety and service. If China Airlines can change a name that has made marketing difficult in the past, the benefits of rebranding could outweigh the potential costs. 另一方面，中華航空的主要競爭對手「長榮航空」是一家提供高標準飛行安全和高品質服務的台灣國籍航空公司。如果中華航空的英文更名動作，能夠改善中華航空過去行銷上的困難，那麼英文更名所帶來的好處，可能遠超過潛在的成本。 The second area of concern from China Airlines' perspective would be aviation rights, which grants airlines the privilege to enter, fly over, or land in another country's airspace. Such rights, critical to any airline's operations, are as a result of decades of negotiations between airline companies and regulatory agencies. Some have indicated the possibility of China Airlines losing these rights because of a name change, but it is important to understand that rebranding does not have to include changing the legal name. 從中華航空的角度來看，另一個令人關注的領域是航權，意指賦予航空公司進入、飛越或降落在另一個國家領空的權利。航權對任何一家航空公司的運營都是極為重要的，是航空公司與監管機構經過數十年談判的結果。有些人表示，中華航空可能會因為英文名稱「China」的更名而失去這些權利，但其實非常重要的一點是，航空公司的形象更名並不需要包含更改其法定名稱。 For instance, the major European airline based in Amsterdam is branded as KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, but the three letters KLM stand for its registered legal name, Koninklijke Luchtvaart Maatschappij. In a similar fashion, China Airlines could perhaps rebrand as "CAL Formosa Airlines," while retaining its formal name, to avoid compromising its aviation rights. 舉例而言，以阿姆斯特丹作為基地的歐洲大型航空公司是以 KLM Royal Dutch Airlines（荷蘭皇家航空）做為形象名稱，但此航空公司註冊的法定名稱則為 Koninklijke Luchtvaart Maatschappij。以類似的方式，中華航空也許可以在英文名稱上更名為「CAL Formosa Airlines」，並同時維持其法定名稱「中華航空」，以避免損及航權。 Finally, while airlines tend to stay out of politics, companies such as China Airlines also have to consider its ability to continue flying into existing markets, particularly China. Critics of the idea to rename China Airlines have voiced concerns about angering the Communist Party in Beijing, and have sp
