Before Passengers Board, 1st-Class service
貴客登機前的頂級服務
By Christine Negroni

WASHINGTON – Offering lavish airport services to premium-class passengers is a worldwide phenomenon.
提供奢華的機場服務給頂級乘客，舉世皆然。

To celebrate the beginning of service between Dulles International Airport and Abu Dhabi, Etihad Airways’ chief executive, James Hogan, made the long flight to Washington to host a party for 450 people with entertainment by Harry Connick Jr.
今年四月，為了慶祝（華府）杜勒斯國際機場和阿布達比開始通航，阿拉伯聯合大公國的阿提哈德航空公司執行長霍根大老遠飛來華府，主持450位賓客出席的宴會，欣賞（爵士歌手）小亨利康尼克的表演。

At Kennedy International Airport in New York, where Etihad has not been able to secure space for a premium airport lounge, Emirates Airlines of Dubai, its competitor, has a 1,115-square-meter private waiting room overlooking the gate at Terminal 4, and business and first-class travelers can board the plane from there.
阿提哈德航空在紐約的甘迺迪國際機場始終爭取不到設置貴賓室的空間，競爭對手阿酋航空則在第四航廈有一間占地1,115平方公尺（譯注：約337坪）的專屬候機室，能俯瞰登機門，商務艙與頭等艙的乘客可直接由候機室登機。

In Istanbul, Turkish Airlines built a lounge that includes a pool table and a masseuse. In Frankfurt, Lufthansa’s first-class passengers are assigned a personal assistant; when it is time to leave the cigar lounge or dining room for the plane, they are taken by private car, without having to board with other passengers. In the home bases of Emirates and Etihad, business-class passengers get deluxe accommodations; first-class passengers, ultradeluxe.
在伊斯坦堡，土耳其航空打造了一座配備撞球檯和女按摩師的候機室。在法蘭克福，德國漢莎航空的頭等艙乘客都配有私人助理，需要從雪茄室或餐廳登機時，都有專車接送，無需和其他乘客一起登機。在阿酋航空與阿提哈德總部所在地（編按：分別是杜拜與阿布達比）的機場，商務艙的乘客享有十分豪華的招待設施，頭等艙乘客的招待設施更是超級豪華。

“We believe that the comfort and convenience of dedicated lounges enables our passengers to enjoy the Emirates experience even before they have boarded the plane,” said Mohammed H. Mattar, divisional senior vice president at Emirates Airport Services.
阿酋航空機場服務的區域資深副總裁馬塔說：「我們相信透過專屬候機室的舒適與便利，能讓乘客在登機前就感受阿酋航空提供的美好體驗。」

Etihad has a similar philosophy, which is why its executives are so frustrated at their inability to secure space in New York.
阿提哈德航空抱持類似的經營哲學，以致主管對於無法在紐約設置機場貴賓室深感沮喪。

“I can’t control customs or security; some are good, some are bad, but what I can control is our touch points,” Mr. Hogan said. “So the experience in the lounge is important to us.”
霍根說：「通關或安檢品質良莠不齊，我無法控制，但我可以掌握公司對乘客服務的接觸點，候機室的體驗因此對我們很重要。」

Improving the airport experience has long been a priority for airlines with heavy passenger traffic passing through their home base en route to somewhere else, according to a report on airports by the consulting firm Oliver Wyman. “In the Middle East in particular, the newly developed hubs have based their business models around transfer passengers,” the report says, but it is also true for airlines like Cathay Pacific, Singapore, Turkish and Lufthansa.
根據金融服務顧問公司「奧緯」對機場的報告，對於有大量乘客經由航空公司總部所在前往全球各地的航空業者來說，改善機場體驗始終是優先要務。報告指出，「特別是中東，新崛起的中繼航線將經營重心放在轉機的乘客身上，」但航空業者像是國泰、新加坡、土耳其與漢莎也是這樣做。

Now some airlines in the United States have decided that giving passengers a comfortable place to wait gives them a competitive advantage, especially at older airports, which can be short on amenities like electrical outlets, Wi-Fi, quality food and beverages and a place to sit and work.
有些美國的航空公司已經認定，提供乘客舒適的候機空間可讓業者取得競爭優勢，尤其是在比較老的機場，這些機場設備可能並不便利，欠缺插座、Wi-Fi無限上網、美酒佳肴和可以坐下來幹活的地方。

Song Hoi See, chief executive of the airport services company Plaza Premium Lounge Management Hong Kong, says the trend of catering to travelers who value service above price is still evolving.
香港環亞機場服務管理有限公司行政總裁宋海西表示，迎合重視服務更勝過價格的旅客，正蔚為趨勢。

He said: “Now you go to the lounge and they provide hot food and shower, wellness services, pedicure, manicure and also business center services, more than printing, but secretary, meeting and videoconferencing.”
他說：「現在你到候機室，裡面提供熱食和淋浴、保健養生的服務、足療和手療，還有商務中心的服務，除了影印之外，還提供秘書及開會與舉行視訊會議的設施。」

原文參照：
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/01/business/premium-class-airline-service-long-before-boarding.html

2013-06-04聯合報/G9版/UNITEDDAILYNEWS 張佑生譯 原文參見紐時週報七版下