為什么會(huì)“空中憤怒”

為什么會(huì)“空中憤怒”

盡管這類事件不算常見(jiàn)，但是當(dāng)此類事件發(fā)生時(shí)，空中憤怒會(huì)讓乘客和機(jī)組成員感到不安。飛機(jī)是密閉空間，在飛行中也是無(wú)法報(bào)警的。行為不當(dāng)?shù)某丝蜔o(wú)法被逐走。改變飛行航線會(huì)造成數(shù)十萬(wàn)美元的損失。

測(cè)試中可能遇到的詞匯和知識(shí)：

incident事變；插曲['?ns?d(?)nt]

unruly不守規(guī)矩的[?n'ru?l?]

rage憤怒；狂暴[re?d?]

intoxication陶醉；喝醉[?n,t?ks?'ke??n]

privileged給予……特權(quán)['pr?v?l?d?d]

upgraded升級(jí)；改善['?pgreidid]

foil襯托；阻止[f??l]

We are all suckers in the airline cabin class war（736 words）

By Michael Skapinker

In the 18 years since I acquired a British Airways frequent flyer card,I have,according to the My Flightpath section on the company’s website,spent 500 hours in the air.

As I started flying more than 40 years ago,and have used other airlines too,I should probably double that number. Yet in all that time,I have never seen an incident of air rage or even mild unpleasantness.

Air rage is relatively rare. The US Federal Aviation Administration recorded 99“enforcement actions”on unruly passengers last year — down from 145 in 2014 and 310 in 2004.

A worldwide study of airlines by the International Civil Aviation Organisation found that,between 2007 and 2013,there was an average of one unruly passenger incident every 1,708 flights,of which a fifth were serious enough to warrant police involvement after landing.

But when it does happen,air rage is disturbing for passengers and crew. An aircraft is an enclosed space. While it is in flight,police cannot be called. Misbehaving passengers cannot be removed. Diverting an aircraft can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Passenger arguments about reclining seats have caused incidents. So has people objecting to where they are sitting. Airlines say the main cause of air rage is intoxication. But now a study from the University of Toronto and Harvard Business School has found an additional trigger: class envy.

The academics studied several years of air rage data from an unnamed large international airline. They found that having two classes of seating on an aircraft increased the amount of air rage. This was particularly true when the economy passengers boarded at the front and walked past the better seats on the way to theirs.

It wasn’t just economy passengers who were more enraged when viewing the seating inequality. The first-class passengers were also more likely to behave badly if the economy passengers walked past their seats while boarding.

Until recently,I witnessed the class divide from the wrong side of the curtain. There was an era when the Financial Times allowed its journalists to fly business class,but it was so long ago that I can hardly remember.

Our travel rules specify economy,with the occasional merciful purse-string holder allowing premium economy if the flight is long enough.

Even so,I did so much FT flying last year that I woke up one day in a hotel bed,looked at my BA app and discovered that I had a silver card. This was an entry into a privileged world.

Before boarding,there is a separate security queue for the special card holders. There is access to airline lounges,with free snacks and drinks.

Best of all,if the flight is full,or an extended family in economy wants to sit together,you are suddenly upgraded to business class,which has happened to me three times.

For anyone used to economy,business class is a revelation. You can stretch out or lie flat. Meals come on plates rather than in foil containers. On my first upgrade,the flight attendant said to me:“You all right there?”“I’m not complaining,”I told her.“Good,”she said.“Let’s see if we can keep it that way.”

She could,of course. But as with all pleasurable experiences,the novelty fades and you can begin to view your surroundings more objectively.

Business class is far less cramped than economy,but you still have to step over people’s outstretched legs to reach the toilets. That reclinable seat is as narrow as an office chair.

The exclusive security queue has fewer people in it,but you still have to remove the metal from your pockets and take off your shoes or put your liquids in a see-through bag,depending on where you are flying from.

The lounges become as crowded as the seats outside and those inside seem to speak more loudly on their phones.

The Toronto-Harvard research suggests bad behaviour from higher-class passengers shows they are“more selfish,entitled and scornful”. I suspect it is also because they can’t understand why they aren’t happier.

It is the genius of the airline industry to make people so uncomfortable that they will pay thousands of dollars more to be less uncomfortable — but still sitting in conditions that would be intolerable at home.

While air rage can never be justified,it is remarkable how co-operative and even-tempered most passengers are,wherever they are sitting.