關注社會:揭祕飛機旅行的八大優勢

Online Check-In

　　在線登記

Instead of having to queue up at the airport behind the Clampetts, you can now check in from your personal computer, print out a boarding pass and breeze past the waiting throng to the gate (stopping first, of course, to remove your shoes at security).

與先前必須在機場排隊不同，現在你只需一臺聯網的個人電腦即可完成登記、打印登記證，就可以通過安全門等待登機了（當然，你先得在安全門那兒脫鞋接受安全檢查）。

Mobile Boarding Passes

　　手機登記證

Perhaps it was inevitable that your iPhone or Blackberry would double as a boarding pass some day—and that day is arriving sooner than you think.

或許將來某一天你的iPhone或者黑莓手機可以兼有登記證的功能——而這一天來到的要比你想象的早得多。

Self-Service Boarding Gates

　　自助登機門

Lufthansa now has “self-boarding” turnstiles at some of its gates at Frankfurt and Munich airports，these gates greatly speed up the boarding process.

德國漢莎航空公司在法蘭克福和慕尼黑機場分別新建了一些“自助登機”轉門。這些自助登機門大大提高了登機速度。

Express Baggage Check-in / Automated Luggage Tracking

　　快速行李登記/自動化行李跟蹤

Under a program developed by the airlines called “Bags-Ready-To-Go,” passengers can print out their own bag tags at the same time they get their boarding pass from either their computer or an airport kiosk then they can drop off their luggage at a counter or designated bag-drop location.

機場提供了一項名爲“行李即取走”的服務，即乘客可在打印登記證的同時打印他們的行李標籤，之後乘客可將行李直接送到櫃檯或者指定的行李接收處。

Roving Airport Agents

　　可隨時提供服務的機場代理人

Hundreds of crimson-jacketed agents are now roaming concourses in New York, Atlanta and other major airports. The agents will carry hand-held electronic devices that can print boarding passes, and issue vouchers and passes to airport clubs.

現在，有幾百名身着紅色制服的代理人遊走在紐約、亞特拉大和其他主要機場。這些代理人隨身攜帶手提式電子設備，這些設備可打印登記證、憑證併發送到機場俱樂部。

Inflight Internet Access

　　飛行過程中的互聯網服務

Airlines are racing to wire their planes with internet capability, and airlines that are now offering this include American, Delta, US Airways, Alaska, Air Tran, and Virgin America.

航空公司正在將它們的飛機進行聯網，目前提供互聯網服務的航空公司包括：美國航空公司、達美航空、全美航空、阿拉斯加航空、穿越航空以及維珍航空。

Express Customs Clearance

　　快速通關

A new “ pilot program” from the U.S. Customs and Border Protection allows pre-approved, so called “low-risk travelers” expedited clearance when they arrive in the U.S.

美國海關和邊境保護局新近出臺一項名爲“飛行員程序”的措施，允許那些先前已得到覈准的所謂“低風險旅行者”在到達美國時快速通關。

Airport Take-Out and Dining

　　機場外賣和餐飲

The airline has touch-screen menus from all the restaurants in the terminal. Just choose what to eat, swipe your credit card and in minutes your food is delivered to you.

機場有觸屏式菜單連接到各個飯店的終端。你只需選擇要點的食物，刷一下信用卡，數分鐘內你點的食物就會送到你手中。