谁给看看翻译的咋样？
为了我快荒废的英语，为了世界各国人民间的伟大交流，我开始驻扎译言网了，有懂行的麻烦给指点指点，感激不尽~
New competition for Airbus and Boeing
Start your engines
External pressures force the giants of aviation to spruce up their bestselling planesMar 18th 2010 | From The Economist print edition
ARE Boeing and Airbus the fierce competitors they claim to be, or have they become a cosy duopoly? The answer is probably a bit of both. Most of the time the rivalry between the two firms that dominate the commercial aviation industry is intense and has been of huge benefit to their customers. But over the past few years, airlines have become increasingly frustrated by the ever-receding time horizon for the replacement of the two workhorses of the world’s fleets, the Boeing 737 and Airbus A320 families, now not expected until the middle of the next decade. With a backlog of around 4,500 orders for these 110-180 seat single-aisle jets, split more or less equally between the two aircraft and stretching to 2015 at current production rates, neither Boeing nor Airbus has had much interest in offering anything new. But developments beyond their control are now forcing them to rethink.
John Leahy, Airbus’s vice-president for customers, has promised to provide “an update” on the firm’s thinking in July, at the time of the Farnborough air show. It is widely believed within the industry that Airbus will use the occasion to launch a enhanced version of the A320 (and its derivatives) with a new generation of efficient engines that will reduce emissions and cut fuel consumption by up to 15%. But a decision could come sooner. If it does, staff at Boeing admit they will have little choice but to follow suit. The spruced-up planes would enter service in about five years’ time, extending the models’ lives until around 2025. By then, Airbus and Boeing believe that radical new designs and technologies will have matured sufficiently to improve efficiency by 40% from today’s levels. That should provide a platform for new aircraft that will last 40 years or so—an age already exceeded by the 737.
Although the cost of “re-engining” is far less than developing an all-new plane (albeit rather more for Boeing than Airbus because the low wing of the 737 is unsuitable for the big new engines), it is an expense and effort that both planemakers would prefer to avoid just now. Boeing has had a torrid time bringing its chronically delayed 787 Dreamliner to market (the first deliveries are now expected by the end of this year). It wants to conserve cash and engineers to respond to the threat to the 777 from the larger versions of the new Airbus A350. Upgrading the 777 with a new wing is one possibility, but a similar exercise with the 747-8 proved fraught, convincing some within the company that it may as well go the extra mile and develop an all-new plane. As for Airbus, keeping the A350 on schedule—it is due to make its first flight in 2012—is its priority. The firm is also still suffering from continuing production difficulties with the A380 superjumbo and losses on the A400m military transport.
But two factors have made it hard for Airbus and Boeing to continue sitting on their hands. First and most important are the strides made by engine manufacturers of late, led by Pratt & Whitney. These have made it increasingly difficult for the pair to argue that airlines should be satisfied with the incremental improvements in efficiency of 1-2% a year that they eke out of their existing designs. Last year P&W’s engines powered just 1% of mainstream commercial airliners compared with around 9% a decade ago. In an attempt to force its way back into the market, it is betting everything on its revolutionary “geared turbofan” (GTF) engine (pictured above), which it claims is 10-15% more efficient than conventional jet engines. Airbus conducted a successful trial of the GTF 18 months ago. Meanwhile, CFM International, a joint venture between GE and SNECMA which provides engines for more than 60% of Boeing’s and Airbus’s planes, is promoting a rival design called Leap-X. Rolls-Royce, too, is developing a new offering.
The second factor is that potential competitors to the A320 and the 737 which make use of these new engines are emerging. The GTF will power Mitsubishi’s new regional jet, as well as Bombardier’s new CSeries, a 110-130 seat (and potentially 150 seat) medium-range aircraft that has 90 firm orders, the latest coming from Republic Airways last month. The CSeries has had a long and difficult birth, but should enter service in 2014. It has been designed to win a chunk of the smaller end of the narrow-body market by offering 20% greater efficiency than the A320 or 737.
Two new single-aisle jets from China and Russia, both expected to enter service in 2016, are aimed even more directly at the two aviation giants. The Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China’s 170-190 seat C919 has opted for CFM’s Leap-X, which will be assembled locally; United Aircraft Corporation, the agglomeration of all Russia’s state-owned planemakers, is backing the GTF for its 150-212 seat Irkut MS-21. There are big uncertainties about both projects—in particular about the two companies’ ability to deliver the service and backup customers expect. But both claim their planes will consume at least 15% less fuel than the current A320 and 737. They will also be much cheaper. If the Chinese government pressures the country’s big airlines, which are state-owned, to buy the C919, it will be especially bad news for Airbus, which is pinning more of its hopes for future growth on Asia than Boeing is, and has established a production line for the A320 in Tianjin.
Which engines will Airbus and Boeing pick to ensure they stay ahead of the new competition? Boeing’s instinct will be to stay in lock-step with CFM, which is currently the only engine supplier for the 737. However, Richard Aboulafia of the Teal Group, an aviation consultancy, thinks there is more technological risk with the Leap-X than with the GTF and greater uncertainty about whether it will deliver the same cost savings. Airbus has said that it wants to stick with its established engine partners, CFM and International Aero Engines, a consortium that includes P&W and Rolls-Royce. Given that the latter pair are on divergent technological paths, compromising on a design could prove tricky. Getting it right is crucial for Boeing and Airbus: last year the 737 and the A320 represented respectively 77% and 81% of their deliveries—nearly 1,000 aircraft. The competition is watching, but not waiting.
以下是我的翻译
空客与波音的新竞争：启动引擎——外部压力迫使飞机制造巨头改进畅销机型
空客和波音真的像它们声称的那样是激烈的竞争对手吗，还是它们已经成为了不思进取的双头垄断企业？答案或许是两者都有那么一点。大多数情况下，两者在争夺商用航空工业支配权的竞争是激烈且对它们的顾客（航空公司）是有极大好处的。但在过去的几年里，诸多航空公司已经逐渐地经受着在由于两家公司带来的困难，正因为后者不断推迟当今世界航运的两款主力机型的更新换代——波音737系列和空客A320系列，现在仍不能期望在未来五年内见到它们。有着4500份110-180座单通道喷气式客机的订单的积压，即使大致相当地等分给两家公司，以现有的生产率，大致也要被延迟到2015年才能完成，无论是波音还是空客都无意开发新机型。但超出两大巨头的新发展迫使它们重新思考这个问题。
John Leahy，空客负责客户业务的副总裁，已经在7月的法伦堡航空展承诺要对公司的思路进行“升级”。这在业内被广泛视为空客将会抓住这个机会推出增强版的A320（以及相关产品和服务），并使用新一代高效发动机以减少排放和最多达15%的燃料消耗。但最终的决定还需要一小段时间才能下达。如果这是真的，波音的员工承认除了紧跟着空客的步伐之外几乎没有其他的选择。加强版的新飞机将会在5年内开始服役，并延续上一代机型的“生命”直到2025年。在那时，空客和波音都认为彻底换代的设计与技术将会充分成熟，并比当下的水平提高40%的效率。那将提供一个可使用40年左右的平台——这一时长已被737超越。
尽管重新装配引擎的花费远低于推出一架全新的产品（对于波音来说并没有空客那样低，因为像737一类的低翼机型并不适合新的大型发动机），但目前两家公司仍然尽力避免这样的花费和努力。波音对于将由于自己习惯性跳票而延迟的梦幻客机787推向市场有着极大的热情（交付预计会在在今年年底），波音希望节省资金和人力以应对777遭受的来自更大型号的新空客A350的威胁。用新的机翼升级777是一种可能，但是关于747-8的相似经历造成了忧虑，在公司内部方面从某种程度上证实了波音同时绕远道开发一种全新机型的可能性。至于空客，保证A350项目按时间表进行——由于其首飞预计在2012年——是其首要任务，同时，空客还承受着A380大飞机的持久的生产困难以及军用运输机A400m带来的损失。
但现实使两大巨头难于着手。首先也是作重要的问题是最近由引擎制造商普惠公司（Pratt & Whitney）等引领的技术进步，这使这对竞争者难以说服航空公司对每年1-2%的效能增长率感到满意，从而无法维持自己现有的机型。最近的几年里，普惠公司的引擎只装配在1%的主流商业航线上，远远低于十年前的接近9%的份额，为了恢复到以往的占有率，普惠公司将筹码压在了齿轮传动式涡扇发动机（geared turbofan，GTF）上，这款发动机据称比传统喷气式发动机高出10-15%的效能。空客在18个月前成功地主导了一次关于GTF的实验。同时，CFM国际公司——一家由美国通用电气与法国斯奈克玛（SNECMA）公司组成的合资企业，为空客与波音60%以上的飞机提供发动机，——正在推广GTF的竞争产品，Leap-X。劳斯莱斯也在开发新的产品。
第二个问题是对于像A320和737这类使用新型发动机的机型的潜在竞争对手正在浮现。GTF发动机将会装配在三菱的新型支线喷气式客机上，庞巴迪运输公司的C系列——一种110-130座的（可能达到150座）中程飞机——也已经有了90份确认订单，最近的订单在上个月来自于共和航空（Republic Airways）。C系列的产生经历了漫长而困难的历程，最终将于2014年开始服役。其设计目标是通过高出A320与737约20%的能效来赢得小飞机市场的一块份额。来自中国和俄罗斯的2种新型单通道喷气式客机，均被预计将于2016年开始服役，其目标更直接地指向了两大巨头。中国商用飞机有限责任公司的170-190座C919已经选择了CMF的Leap-X，并将在中国内地组装；俄罗斯联合飞机公司——俄罗斯所有国有飞机制造商的聚集——则在其150-212座的Irkut MS-21上选择了GTF。这里关于上述两个项目，有极大的不确定因素，尤其是这两家公司是否有能力去提供服务和顾客需要的后续支持。但两家公司均声称它们的飞机比起现有的A320和737，将节省至少15%的燃料，并且更便宜。如果中国政府对国有航空公司施压，使后者选择C919。这对空客来说将是极大的坏消息，因为空客比波音寄托了更多的希望于未来亚洲市场的增长，而且在天津建立了A320的生产线。
哪种发动机将会被空客和波音选择来保障其在新竞争中的领先地位？波音的习惯是与CFM的步伐保持一致，同时CFM也是波音737当今唯一的发动机供应商。然而，蒂尔集团（Tear Group）——一家航空业咨询公司——的Richard Aboulafia认为Leap-X比GTF有着更高的技术风险，而且在能否实现相同的能耗上有着很大的不确定性。空客声称其将会坚持与其已建立关系的发动机生产商——CMF与国际航空发动机公司（包括普惠公司与劳斯莱斯建立的国际财团）的合作伙伴关系。由于后一对走上了不同的技术道路（普惠与劳斯莱斯），设计上的妥协可能是极其复杂的。做出正确判断对空客与波音都是极为重要的：去年A320和737分别占到了两家公司已交付量的81%和77%——几乎1000架。竞争还在进行，而不会停下。
New competition for Airbus and Boeing
Start your engines
External pressures force the giants of aviation to spruce up their bestselling planesMar 18th 2010 | From The Economist print edition
ARE Boeing and Airbus the fierce competitors they claim to be, or have they become a cosy duopoly? The answer is probably a bit of both. Most of the time the rivalry between the two firms that dominate the commercial aviation industry is intense and has been of huge benefit to their customers. But over the past few years, airlines have become increasingly frustrated by the ever-receding time horizon for the replacement of the two workhorses of the world’s fleets, the Boeing 737 and Airbus A320 families, now not expected until the middle of the next decade. With a backlog of around 4,500 orders for these 110-180 seat single-aisle jets, split more or less equally between the two aircraft and stretching to 2015 at current production rates, neither Boeing nor Airbus has had much interest in offering anything new. But developments beyond their control are now forcing them to rethink.
John Leahy, Airbus’s vice-president for customers, has promised to provide “an update” on the firm’s thinking in July, at the time of the Farnborough air show. It is widely believed within the industry that Airbus will use the occasion to launch a enhanced version of the A320 (and its derivatives) with a new generation of efficient engines that will reduce emissions and cut fuel consumption by up to 15%. But a decision could come sooner. If it does, staff at Boeing admit they will have little choice but to follow suit. The spruced-up planes would enter service in about five years’ time, extending the models’ lives until around 2025. By then, Airbus and Boeing believe that radical new designs and technologies will have matured sufficiently to improve efficiency by 40% from today’s levels. That should provide a platform for new aircraft that will last 40 years or so—an age already exceeded by the 737.
Although the cost of “re-engining” is far less than developing an all-new plane (albeit rather more for Boeing than Airbus because the low wing of the 737 is unsuitable for the big new engines), it is an expense and effort that both planemakers would prefer to avoid just now. Boeing has had a torrid time bringing its chronically delayed 787 Dreamliner to market (the first deliveries are now expected by the end of this year). It wants to conserve cash and engineers to respond to the threat to the 777 from the larger versions of the new Airbus A350. Upgrading the 777 with a new wing is one possibility, but a similar exercise with the 747-8 proved fraught, convincing some within the company that it may as well go the extra mile and develop an all-new plane. As for Airbus, keeping the A350 on schedule—it is due to make its first flight in 2012—is its priority. The firm is also still suffering from continuing production difficulties with the A380 superjumbo and losses on the A400m military transport.
But two factors have made it hard for Airbus and Boeing to continue sitting on their hands. First and most important are the strides made by engine manufacturers of late, led by Pratt & Whitney. These have made it increasingly difficult for the pair to argue that airlines should be satisfied with the incremental improvements in efficiency of 1-2% a year that they eke out of their existing designs. Last year P&W’s engines powered just 1% of mainstream commercial airliners compared with around 9% a decade ago. In an attempt to force its way back into the market, it is betting everything on its revolutionary “geared turbofan” (GTF) engine (pictured above), which it claims is 10-15% more efficient than conventional jet engines. Airbus conducted a successful trial of the GTF 18 months ago. Meanwhile, CFM International, a joint venture between GE and SNECMA which provides engines for more than 60% of Boeing’s and Airbus’s planes, is promoting a rival design called Leap-X. Rolls-Royce, too, is developing a new offering.
The second factor is that potential competitors to the A320 and the 737 which make use of these new engines are emerging. The GTF will power Mitsubishi’s new regional jet, as well as Bombardier’s new CSeries, a 110-130 seat (and potentially 150 seat) medium-range aircraft that has 90 firm orders, the latest coming from Republic Airways last month. The CSeries has had a long and difficult birth, but should enter service in 2014. It has been designed to win a chunk of the smaller end of the narrow-body market by offering 20% greater efficiency than the A320 or 737.
Two new single-aisle jets from China and Russia, both expected to enter service in 2016, are aimed even more directly at the two aviation giants. The Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China’s 170-190 seat C919 has opted for CFM’s Leap-X, which will be assembled locally; United Aircraft Corporation, the agglomeration of all Russia’s state-owned planemakers, is backing the GTF for its 150-212 seat Irkut MS-21. There are big uncertainties about both projects—in particular about the two companies’ ability to deliver the service and backup customers expect. But both claim their planes will consume at least 15% less fuel than the current A320 and 737. They will also be much cheaper. If the Chinese government pressures the country’s big airlines, which are state-owned, to buy the C919, it will be especially bad news for Airbus, which is pinning more of its hopes for future growth on Asia than Boeing is, and has established a production line for the A320 in Tianjin.
Which engines will Airbus and Boeing pick to ensure they stay ahead of the new competition? Boeing’s instinct will be to stay in lock-step with CFM, which is currently the only engine supplier for the 737. However, Richard Aboulafia of the Teal Group, an aviation consultancy, thinks there is more technological risk with the Leap-X than with the GTF and greater uncertainty about whether it will deliver the same cost savings. Airbus has said that it wants to stick with its established engine partners, CFM and International Aero Engines, a consortium that includes P&W and Rolls-Royce. Given that the latter pair are on divergent technological paths, compromising on a design could prove tricky. Getting it right is crucial for Boeing and Airbus: last year the 737 and the A320 represented respectively 77% and 81% of their deliveries—nearly 1,000 aircraft. The competition is watching, but not waiting.
以下是我的翻译
空客与波音的新竞争：启动引擎——外部压力迫使飞机制造巨头改进畅销机型
空客和波音真的像它们声称的那样是激烈的竞争对手吗，还是它们已经成为了不思进取的双头垄断企业？答案或许是两者都有那么一点。大多数情况下，两者在争夺商用航空工业支配权的竞争是激烈且对它们的顾客（航空公司）是有极大好处的。但在过去的几年里，诸多航空公司已经逐渐地经受着在由于两家公司带来的困难，正因为后者不断推迟当今世界航运的两款主力机型的更新换代——波音737系列和空客A320系列，现在仍不能期望在未来五年内见到它们。有着4500份110-180座单通道喷气式客机的订单的积压，即使大致相当地等分给两家公司，以现有的生产率，大致也要被延迟到2015年才能完成，无论是波音还是空客都无意开发新机型。但超出两大巨头的新发展迫使它们重新思考这个问题。
John Leahy，空客负责客户业务的副总裁，已经在7月的法伦堡航空展承诺要对公司的思路进行“升级”。这在业内被广泛视为空客将会抓住这个机会推出增强版的A320（以及相关产品和服务），并使用新一代高效发动机以减少排放和最多达15%的燃料消耗。但最终的决定还需要一小段时间才能下达。如果这是真的，波音的员工承认除了紧跟着空客的步伐之外几乎没有其他的选择。加强版的新飞机将会在5年内开始服役，并延续上一代机型的“生命”直到2025年。在那时，空客和波音都认为彻底换代的设计与技术将会充分成熟，并比当下的水平提高40%的效率。那将提供一个可使用40年左右的平台——这一时长已被737超越。
尽管重新装配引擎的花费远低于推出一架全新的产品（对于波音来说并没有空客那样低，因为像737一类的低翼机型并不适合新的大型发动机），但目前两家公司仍然尽力避免这样的花费和努力。波音对于将由于自己习惯性跳票而延迟的梦幻客机787推向市场有着极大的热情（交付预计会在在今年年底），波音希望节省资金和人力以应对777遭受的来自更大型号的新空客A350的威胁。用新的机翼升级777是一种可能，但是关于747-8的相似经历造成了忧虑，在公司内部方面从某种程度上证实了波音同时绕远道开发一种全新机型的可能性。至于空客，保证A350项目按时间表进行——由于其首飞预计在2012年——是其首要任务，同时，空客还承受着A380大飞机的持久的生产困难以及军用运输机A400m带来的损失。
但现实使两大巨头难于着手。首先也是作重要的问题是最近由引擎制造商普惠公司（Pratt & Whitney）等引领的技术进步，这使这对竞争者难以说服航空公司对每年1-2%的效能增长率感到满意，从而无法维持自己现有的机型。最近的几年里，普惠公司的引擎只装配在1%的主流商业航线上，远远低于十年前的接近9%的份额，为了恢复到以往的占有率，普惠公司将筹码压在了齿轮传动式涡扇发动机（geared turbofan，GTF）上，这款发动机据称比传统喷气式发动机高出10-15%的效能。空客在18个月前成功地主导了一次关于GTF的实验。同时，CFM国际公司——一家由美国通用电气与法国斯奈克玛（SNECMA）公司组成的合资企业，为空客与波音60%以上的飞机提供发动机，——正在推广GTF的竞争产品，Leap-X。劳斯莱斯也在开发新的产品。
第二个问题是对于像A320和737这类使用新型发动机的机型的潜在竞争对手正在浮现。GTF发动机将会装配在三菱的新型支线喷气式客机上，庞巴迪运输公司的C系列——一种110-130座的（可能达到150座）中程飞机——也已经有了90份确认订单，最近的订单在上个月来自于共和航空（Republic Airways）。C系列的产生经历了漫长而困难的历程，最终将于2014年开始服役。其设计目标是通过高出A320与737约20%的能效来赢得小飞机市场的一块份额。来自中国和俄罗斯的2种新型单通道喷气式客机，均被预计将于2016年开始服役，其目标更直接地指向了两大巨头。中国商用飞机有限责任公司的170-190座C919已经选择了CMF的Leap-X，并将在中国内地组装；俄罗斯联合飞机公司——俄罗斯所有国有飞机制造商的聚集——则在其150-212座的Irkut MS-21上选择了GTF。这里关于上述两个项目，有极大的不确定因素，尤其是这两家公司是否有能力去提供服务和顾客需要的后续支持。但两家公司均声称它们的飞机比起现有的A320和737，将节省至少15%的燃料，并且更便宜。如果中国政府对国有航空公司施压，使后者选择C919。这对空客来说将是极大的坏消息，因为空客比波音寄托了更多的希望于未来亚洲市场的增长，而且在天津建立了A320的生产线。
哪种发动机将会被空客和波音选择来保障其在新竞争中的领先地位？波音的习惯是与CFM的步伐保持一致，同时CFM也是波音737当今唯一的发动机供应商。然而，蒂尔集团（Tear Group）——一家航空业咨询公司——的Richard Aboulafia认为Leap-X比GTF有着更高的技术风险，而且在能否实现相同的能耗上有着很大的不确定性。空客声称其将会坚持与其已建立关系的发动机生产商——CMF与国际航空发动机公司（包括普惠公司与劳斯莱斯建立的国际财团）的合作伙伴关系。由于后一对走上了不同的技术道路（普惠与劳斯莱斯），设计上的妥协可能是极其复杂的。做出正确判断对空客与波音都是极为重要的：去年A320和737分别占到了两家公司已交付量的81%和77%——几乎1000架。竞争还在进行，而不会停下。
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