日航空公司要求乘客登機(jī)前上廁所

Japanese airline asks fliers to flush first

　　Passenger jets of Japan's air carrier All Nippon Airways are seen parked on the tarmac at Tokyo International Airport in 2008. The Japanese airline is taking its weight-saving efforts to new heights, asking passengers on some of its flights to visit the restroom before flying.(Agencies)

　　A Japanese airline is taking its weight-saving efforts to new heights, asking passengers on some of its flights to visit the restroom before flying.

　　The unusual request is one of a number of measures being tried out by All Nippon Airways to reduce fuel consumption.

　　ANA estimates that if half its passengers went to the bathroom before boarding, it could reduce its carbon dioxide emissions by 4.2 tons a month, said company spokeswoman Megumi Tezuka.

　　The airline will also recycle paper cups and plastic bottles, and use chopsticks produced from wood from forest thinning projects, as part of its efforts to become more environmentally friendly.

　　The measures are being trialled on 38 domestic flights and four international flights -- on the Tokyo-Singapore route -- during October.

　　The move follows earlier steps by airlines to reduce the weight of flights by trimming the size of in-flight magazines, slimming the handles of forks and spoons and using lighter drink trolleys and porcelain.

　　ANA announced in April its first annual loss in six years as the global economic downturn reduced the number of people taking to the skies.

　　It is not the only airline looking to the lavatory to save money. Irish budget airline Ryanair has previously said it is considering charging passengers to use on-board toilets.

　　Vocabulary:

　　forest thinning: 森林間伐

　　in-flight: provided or offered during a flight 飛行過(guò)程中提供的

　　lavatory: a flush toilet 廁所

　　日本一家航空公司誓將飛機(jī)“減負(fù)”進(jìn)行到底，要求其部分航班的乘客在登機(jī)前上廁所。

　　這一“離譜”要求是全日本航空公司為了降低飛機(jī)在飛行中的燃料消耗量而試行的一系列措施之一。

　　全日空公司的發(fā)言人手冢惠美說(shuō)，據(jù)估算，如果有一半的乘客在登機(jī)前如廁排空，那么飛機(jī)每月可減少4.2噸的二氧化碳排放量。

　　作為其環(huán)保措施的一部分，該航空公司還將回收紙杯和塑料瓶，并將使用由森林間伐項(xiàng)目所產(chǎn)木材制成的筷子。

　　這些措施于本月在全日空的38個(gè)國(guó)內(nèi)航班和東京至新加坡的四個(gè)國(guó)際航班上試行。

　　在全日空公司推出這項(xiàng)舉措之前，已有一些航空公司開(kāi)始為飛機(jī)“減負(fù)”，如減小機(jī)內(nèi)雜志尺寸、為餐叉和勺子手柄“瘦身”以及采用更輕便的飲料手推車(chē)和瓷器等。

　　今年四月，全日空公司六年來(lái)首次宣布其財(cái)年虧損，這主要是因?yàn)槿蚪?jīng)濟(jì)衰退導(dǎo)致坐飛機(jī)的人減少。

　　全日空公司并非唯一一家指望通過(guò)廁所來(lái)省錢(qián)的航空公司。愛(ài)爾蘭廉價(jià)航空公司Ryanair此前就表示，該公司正考慮向使用機(jī)上廁所的乘客收費(fèi)。