俄中角力民航客機新興市場之爭
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????上周，蘇霍伊公司的原型客機在赴印尼展演期間不幸墜毀的消息震驚了全世界，俄羅斯重振民用飛機業的夢想不得不暫時擱淺。這起災難似乎證明了全球民用航空業仍然是由波音（Boeing）和空客（Airbus）主宰的雙頭壟斷市場，但這并不意味著俄羅斯和中國等新興競爭者就沒戲了。中俄等國的航空企業得到了政府的大力支持，并且有數十億美元的資金可以自由支配，因此他們紛紛決心在有利可圖、且日益增長的民用航空市場上分一杯羹。 ????上周墜毀的飛機是俄羅斯最新設計的蘇霍伊超級100型支線客機。牽一發而動全身，事故震動了整個民航業。除了45人在這次空難中殞命外，這次墜機對剛剛重組的俄羅斯航空業也是個致命的打擊。這架飛機是在參加六國巡回展演的途中失事的。機上除了機組人員和記者之外，還有來自幾家印尼航空公司的顧問和代表。這些公司原本都有意訂購這款新飛機，充實不斷壯大的機組。 ????印尼官方表示，由于墜機地點十分偏遠，因此對墜機原因的調查可能至少需要四個月甚至一年的時間。俄羅斯政府曾請求印尼官方將失事飛機的黑匣子和飛行記錄器轉交給莫斯科，但遭到了印尼方面的拒絕，理由是印尼政府希望確保獲得一個公平和客觀的調查結果。 ????我們可以理解為什么俄羅斯急著控制、加快對失事原因的調查。因為如果調查結果顯示是某種設計缺陷導致了失事，它對俄方的損失將是難以估量的。另外在調查結束之前，潛在客戶也很可能暫停簽訂該機的采購合約，影響俄方的生產日程。另外由于該型客機是蘇聯（the Soviet Union）解體后的第一架民用飛機，因此客戶很可能也會對其它處于設計階段的俄制客機心生芥蒂。 ????不過這并不意味著俄羅斯航空業走到頭了。俄羅斯總統普京把航空業的復興當成了提升民族自豪感的一個重要工具，而且已經為此投入了數十億美元的資金。另外，像圖波列夫（Tupolev）和伊留申（Ilyushin）等前蘇聯飛機制造廠一度曾是波音（Boeing）和空客（Airbus）的勁敵。只是隨著冷戰（the Cold War）于1992年結束，前蘇聯航空業因為缺乏資金而難以為繼。 |
????Russia's dream of resurrecting its moribund commercial aircraft industry has been put on hold following last week's spectacular crash of its shiny new prototype. But while the accident appears to solidify the commercial aviation duopoly controlled by Boeing and Airbus, the Russians, as well as other new competitors in the field like the Chinese, shouldn't be written off just yet. With strong government support and billions of dollars at their disposal, the new start-ups are determined to grab a piece of the lucrative and growing market for commercial aircraft. ????The fiery crash of Russia's newly designed Sukhoi Superjet 100 regional aircraft last week in Indonesia has shaken the tightly knit commercial aviation industry. In addition to being a human tragedy -- 45 people lost their lives -- the crash was also a marketing disaster for Russia's revamped aviation industry. The crash occurred on a demonstration flight as part of a carefully scheduled six-nation Asian road show. Onboard were journalists, aircraft consultants and representatives from a number of Indonesian airlines who were looking to add the Russian-made jet to their growing fleet. ????Indonesian officials say that an investigation into the cause of the crash would take at least four months and could last as long as a year given the remote location of the crash site. The Indonesian government has refused the Russian government's request to transfer the plane's black box and flight recorder to Moscow, saying that it wants to ensure a fair an objective investigation into the cause of the crash. ????It is understandable why Russia wants to control and speed up the crash investigation. It has a lot to lose if it is determined that a design flaw of some sort was responsible for bringing down the jet. Potential customers will most likely hold off from signing any new agreements to purchase the plane until the investigation is complete, putting a dent in Moscow's production timetable. And since the plane is Russia's first new commercial aircraft since the fall of the Soviet Union, the fear is that customers will probably be wary of taking a peak at other new Russian jets on the drawing board. ????But this isn't the end of the road for Russia's aerospace industry. President Vladimir Putin considers the resurrection of the industry as a point of national pride and has committed billions to the cause. Russian aircraft makers like Tupolev and Ilyushin were at one time true competitors to Boeing (BA) and Airbus. But when the Cold War ended in 1992 funding to the industry dried up. |
