瑞士滑雪勝地將增加直飛航班

Plans for a new airline dedicated to the winter snowsports market were announced in Switzerland last week. PowdAir is due to begin operations in December, offering direct flights from six UK airports as well as Rotterdam and Brussels to Sion, capital of the Valais canton.

PowdAir不久前在瑞士宣佈了專爲冬季冰雪運動旅遊市場開設新航線的計劃。PowdAir預定今年12月正式投入運營，屆時將提供從六家英國機場以及鹿特丹和布魯塞爾直飛瓦萊州(Valais canton)首府錫永(Sion)的航班。

The services will be a boon for skiers, dramatically cutting transfer times to some of Switzerland’s top resorts. The runway at Sion is just two miles from the closest ski lift, at Veysonnaz. Verbier is 10 miles away as the crow flies, Zermatt is 24 miles. PowdAir plans to use a 109-seat Fokker 100 aircraft and fly five days per week, from Thursday to Monday. Seats will cost between ￡99 and ￡150 one-way, including ski carriage.

直航是滑雪愛好者的福音，大大縮減轉機前往瑞士諸多頂級滑雪勝地的時間。錫永機場跑道距韋鬆納滑雪場(Veysonnaz)最近的升降梯只有2英里，與韋爾比耶(Verbier)的直線距離爲10英里，距採爾馬特(Zermatt)也僅有24英里。PowdAir計劃使用109座的福克100型飛機(Fokker 100)，每週飛五天（從週四至週一）執行直飛航線。單程票價（包括滑雪車在內）預定於99-150英鎊之間。

Details of the airline were released at a meeting between airline executives and regional tourism officials at Sion Airport on Thursday. “We are in talks with local tour operators and resorts to put in place infrastructure for skiers’ onward travel from Sion,” said Rob Stewart, a spokesman for PowdAir. “When skiers get to Sion there needs to be an efficient way of getting to the resorts rather than having to book a taxi.”

航線的具體詳情，會在PowdAir高管與錫永地區旅遊局官員會議上宣佈。“我們與當地旅行社以及滑雪場洽談，爲的是解決滑雪愛好者從錫永機場前往滑雪場的基礎設施問題。”PowdAir發言人羅勃?斯圖爾特(Rob Stewart)說。“滑雪愛好者在抵達錫永後，需要便捷前往滑雪場，而不是預定出租車。”

For the first winter season, flights will be operated by Trade Air, an existing Croatia-based airline. PowdAir will pursue its own Air Operator Certificate to enable it to run its own flights for the following season.

對於今年的首個冬季旅遊季，直航將由克羅地亞的Trade Air航空公司承飛。PowdAir將繼續申請航線經營許可證(Air Operator Certificate)，以便在隨後的冬季旅遊季自己負責直飛航線。

For tourism businesses, the flights present a chance to reverse the recent decline in UK visitors to an area that once relied on them. Marcus Bratter, chief executive of the Kings Group of hotels and restaurants in Verbier, welcomed the news, saying a decade ago Britons made up 80 per cent of his guests — a figure that has now fallen to 20 per cent.

對於旅遊業界來說，直航有望扭轉近幾年英國遊客前往該地區的頹勢（該地區曾極度依賴英國遊客）。韋爾比耶地區酒店與餐飲業集團Kings Group總經理馬庫斯?布拉特爾(Marcus Bratter)對直航消息大爲點贊，並說10年前，英國遊客曾佔到旗下集團客源量的80%——如今該比例已大幅降至20%。

Sion currently operates as both a military base and civilian airport, but a reorganisation of the Swiss Air Force is due to see the fighter jets moved elsewhere, prompting the airport to focus on passenger flights.

錫永機場目前是軍民合用，但瑞士空軍(Swiss Air Force)的重組將安排軍用飛機遷往他處，從而使機場專司民航業務。

Swiss International Airlines has this month trialled flights between London Heathrow and Sion, but has yet to confirm whether it will operate the route regularly next winter.

瑞士國際航空公司(Swiss International Airlines)上月試營了從倫敦希思羅機場(London Heathrow)至錫永的直飛航班，但迄今仍未明確今冬是否開通定期航班。