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Business.
商业。
Air India.
印度航空业。
Flying low.
在低迷中飞行。
India's flag carrier is in big trouble.
印度国家航空公司有大麻烦了。
WELL-TO-DO Indian graduates used to line up to join Air India. The national carrier was founded in 1932 and nicknamed the Maharajah. Singapore and Malaysia sought its advice when setting up their state airlines in the 1970s, as a former director recalls. "This was a temple of modern India," he sighs.
印度的优秀毕业生曾经排着队要加入印度航空公司。这一国家航空公司成立于1932年，外号"大君 "。根据一位前任主管回忆，上世纪70年代，新加坡和马来西亚在创立自己国家的航空公司时，都曾向印度航空咨询意见。他叹息道："它曾经是现代印度的神殿。"
Today the Maharajah is looking shabby. Air India made an estimated loss of $1.45 billion in the 2011-12 fiscal year, according to the Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation (CAPA), a consultancy. That was nearly three-quarters of the losses made by all Indian carriers combined. Air India has not made a net profit for six years. Its losses have ballooned since a disastrous 2007 merger with Indian Airlines, its state-owned counterpart for domestic routes (see chart). The union has sparked spats-the latest pilots' strike, which ended on July 3rd, cost almost $120m. The government bailed out the merged firm with $5.8 billion in April, after a $3.5 billion debt restructuring last year.
如今，"大君"看起来十分落魄。根据亚太航空中心（CAPA）咨询公司的数据，印度航空公司在2011-12财务年度的预计亏损为14.5亿美元。这几乎是印度所有航空公司亏损总额的四分之三。印度航空公司已经连续六年没有创造净利润了。自从2007年与印度人航空公司——专营国内航线的国有航空公司——的一次灾难性合并以来，印度航空公司的亏损额不断增长（见图表）。这一联合引起了一些小争端——七月三日刚刚结束的最新飞行员罢工事件，造成了近1.2亿美元的损失。继去年35亿美元的债务重组后，政府在四月份又拨款58亿美元给这一合并公司帮其渡过难关。
Yet the government is unlikely to give up on the combined carriers, whose share of the domestic flight market has dropped from 42% to 16% over the past decade. It would be hard to attract a buyer. Air India spends over a quarter of its operating revenue on employees' pay and benefits; Jet Airways, a domestic rival, spends a tenth. The board approved a voluntary-retirement scheme for 5,000 staff this month, but needs the government's approval. The Maharajah is even thinking of selling its art collection.
但政府现在不大可能放弃这一联合航空公司，在过去十年里，印度航空公司在国内航空市场的份额从42%下降至16%。这样的情形很难吸引购买者。印度航空在雇员的薪水和福利上用掉了超过四分之一的营业收益。而捷特航空，印度航空公司的一个国内竞争者，花费的比例仅为十分之一。董事会这个月为5000名员工批准了一个自愿退休方案，但这一方案仍需要政府的批准。"大君"甚至在考虑出售它的艺术收藏品。
Air India keeps ticket prices uneconomically low. When it slashed prices last year, it forced others to follow suit. That, and India's high taxes on aviation fuel, make it hard for any airline to earn money. Only one of India's six carriers, Indigo, a budget airline, is expected to post a profit this year. Some blame the rise of Gulf airlines on international routes. "Emirates is now the national airline of India. That's what people say," sighs the retired Air India man.
印度航空公司保持着不经济的低票价。去年，当它大幅下调票价时，它迫使市场中其它航空公司跟进。这一行为，连同印度对航空燃料收取的高额税费，使得航空公司赚钱异常困难。在印度六家航空公司中，只有靛蓝航空这一家廉价航空公司，在今年有望盈利。有些人把原因归为海湾地区一些航空公司在国际航线上的崛起。"阿联酋航空目前是大家公认的印度国家航空公司。"这位印度航空公司退休的职员叹息道。
