Rather than going through London or Los Angeles,

這次它不飛經倫敦或洛杉磯

passengers will travel in a bespoke long-range Airbus A350

旅客會搭乘特製的長途飛機 空中巴士A350

up over the Arctic, before arriving New York 18 hours later.

飛過北極，經過18小時後抵達紐約

Singapore Air has been busy buying the next generation of long route jets for the route

新加坡航空近期很忙碌於購買這種特大的客機

But it should take care.

但它應該是沒有問題的

In the long term,

長遠來看

new fuel-efficient planes could pose a serious threat to its business model.

新型的省油飛機可能會對它的商業模型產生極大的威脅

Here’s why...

讓我來解釋為什麼吧！

Singapore Airlines, along with Cathay Pacific, British Airways and Emirates

新加坡航空、國泰航空、 英國航空和阿聯酋

are in essence, global hub carriers.

都是全球首要的樞紐航空

Delta Airlines pioneered the model in the US in the 1950s

達美航空在1950年代於美國建立了這個模型

Hub and spoke networks mean you can use fewer planes

軸輻中心系統（hub and spoke network）代表你可以用更少的飛機

and have a better chance of filling them with passengers and making profits.

這些飛機因此而更容易被旅客填滿，為公司帶來利潤

You can connect five cities in just four daily flights if one of the cities is a hub.

你可以用四天的航班連結五個城市—若其中一個是樞紐的話

If all the connections direct, it takes ten daily flights.

如果沒有樞紐，這些城市的所有連線會需要飛機飛上十天的時間

These days, that pattern has been replicated on a global scale.

近年來，這個模型以全球的尺度在世界各地被複製

Half of all the passengers at Dubai airport now catch connecting flights

杜拜機場一半的旅客都是要轉機的旅客

and that 30% at Singapore, Hong Kong and London Heathrow.

其中30%是前往新加坡、香港和倫敦的希斯洛機場

But there's a problem with such networks.

但這樣的網絡有一個問題

If you're not trying to cover as many destinations as possible,

如果你不是要涵蓋很多目的地的話

you're better off just selling direct connections between the most popular cities.

你最好就是選擇最熱門的大城市，並將它們連結

Budget airlines Southwest and Ryanair proved this vividly in recent decades

低成本航空公司，如西南航空和瑞安航空在前幾十年證明了這件事情

by cherry picking the best routes, and using the savings to offer cheaper tickets.

他們只飛最熱門的航線，用這樣省下來的錢拉低機票的價格

Range limitations mean airlines have been using a more or less unchanged "hub and spoke" model

航空公司間價差的限制，表示自從波音747-400問世之後

since the 747-400 was introduced in the late 1980s.

航空公司持續使用軸輻中心系統，並沒有做太大的改變

But the introduction of new versions of fuel-efficient jets,

但是近年來問世的省油飛機

like the Boeing 787, Airbus A350 and Boeing 777X,

像是波音787、空中巴士A350、波音777X

offers the tantalizing opportunity

提供給航空公司一個誘人的機會

to offer point-to-point flying on a global scale.

將點對點的航班拉到全球尺度

At present, millions in Southeast Asia

現在，東南亞的人們

can't fly direct to the US,

沒有辦法直接飛到美國

Australians have to change flights on route to Europe,

澳洲人要去歐洲的話也必須要轉機

South America is off limits to almost all of East Asia.

南美洲人若要到東亞，也有一定的困難度

If more fuel-efficient planes could make such routes viable,

若更多的省油飛機能讓這些航線可行的話

that will open up a world of possibilities to travelers,

對於旅客來說，這將會打開旅行的無限可能

but the world's hub carriers could face a turbulent future.

但是對於樞紐航空來說，會是個充滿挑戰的未來