日航空公司要求乘客登機前上廁所

A Japanese airline is taking its weight-saving efforts to new heights, asking passengers on some of its flights to visit the restroom before flying.

The unusual request is one of a number of measures being tried out by All Nippon Airways to reduce fuel consumption.

ANA estimates that if half its passengers went to the bathroom before boarding, it could reduce its carbon dioxide emissions by 4.2 tons a month, said company spokeswoman Megumi Tezuka.

The airline will also recycle paper cups and plastic bottles, and use chopsticks produced from wood from forest thinning projects, as part of its efforts to become more environmentally friendly.

The measures are being trialled on 38 domestic flights and four international flights -- on the Tokyo-Singapore route -- during October.

The move follows earlier steps by airlines to reduce the weight of flights by trimming the size of in-flight magazines, slimming the handles of forks and spoons and using lighter drink trolleys and porcelain.

ANA announced in April its first annual loss in six years as the global economic downturn reduced the number of people taking to the skies.

It is not the only airline looking to the lavatory to save money. Irish budget airline Ryanair has previously said it is considering charging passengers to use on-board toilets.

日本一家航空公司誓將飛機“減負”進行到底，要求其部分航班的乘客在登機前上廁所。

這一“離譜”要求是全日本航空公司爲了降低飛機在飛行中的燃料消耗量而試行的一系列措施之一。

全日空公司的發言人手冢惠美說，據估算，如果有一半的乘客在登機前如廁排空，那麼飛機每月可減少4.2噸的二氧化碳排放量。

作爲其環保措施的一部分，該航空公司還將回收紙杯和塑料瓶，並將使用由森林間伐項目所產木材製成的筷子。

這些措施於本月在全日空的38個國內航班和東京至新加坡的四個國際航班上試行。

在全日空公司推出這項舉措之前，已有一些航空公司開始爲飛機“減負”，如減小機內雜誌尺寸、爲餐叉和勺子手柄“瘦身”以及採用更輕便的飲料手推車和瓷器等。

今年四月，全日空公司六年來首次宣佈其財年虧損，這主要是因爲全球經濟衰退導致坐飛機的人減少。

全日空公司並非唯一一家指望通過廁所來省錢的航空公司。愛爾蘭廉價航空公司Ryanair此前就表示，該公司正考慮向使用機上廁所的乘客收費。

Vocabulary:

forest thinning:森林間伐

in-flight: provided or offered during a flight 飛行過程中提供的

lavatory: a flush toilet 廁所