Imagine if airlines ran restaurants. We'd live in a world where a half sandwich, the equivalent of a one-way ticket, might cost two times as much as a whole sandwich.

想象一下，假如航空公司开餐馆会出现什么情况。倘若如此，半块三明治（它好比一张单程票）的价格恐怕会高达一整块三明治的两倍。

The airline way of doing business is unique岸few other businesses have as many rules and restrictions, taxes and fees, frustrations and disruptions. Not many other businesses have such varied and ever-changing pricing for their products. And rare is the business that hits its customers with penalties of hundreds of dollars.

航空公司的经营方式可谓独一无二──它有种种规定和限制、税费名目繁多、常常给人带来失望和扰乱，而像它如此这般的行业少之又少。对产品的定价像它这样多种多样、变化无常的行业也为数不多。而且，如它一般动辄向客户收取数百美元罚金的行业也非常罕见。

Why so different? Airlines face a unique set of challenges, including easy world-wide comparison shopping, high equipment costs, complicated contract work rules, vulnerability to oil price swings and heavy government regulation. And most everything happens outdoors, whatever the weather.

为什么航空业会如此与众不同呢？这是因为航空公司面临一系列独特的挑战，包括已变得非常简单的全球比较购物、成本高昂的设备、规章错综复杂的外包工作、以及易于受到油价波动和严厉政府管制的冲击等等。除此之外，无论天气状况如何，它还容易受到户外发生的几乎所有事情的影响。

The business has gotten far more complex in recent years as the joys of flying have diminished. Simplified pricing schemes have been tried and have failed. Fees and penalties that have generated revenue have been pushed higher and higher. The result: a $200 fee to change a domestic reservation.

由于飞行的乐趣已然消退，近些年航空业的境况变得愈加复杂。简化的定价机制在试行后宣告失败，为其创收的收费和罚金被推得越来越高，其结果是：改签一张国内机票的费用竟达到200美元（约合人民币1,236元）。

'It's a really hard business,' said R. John Hansman, director of the International Center for Air Transportation at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. 'So much depends on many things beyond your control.'

麻省理工学院(Massachusetts Institute of Technology)航空运输国际研究中心(International Center for Air Transportation)主任R.·约翰·汉斯曼(R. John Hansman)说：“它确实是一个艰难的行业，那么多事情都要取决于许多你无法控制的因素。”

The operation is so interconnected that one late flight can make three or four others late, and those delays reverberate all day. 'Someone messes up a sandwich, but there are not 40 other sandwiches messed up,' Dr. Hansman said.

航空业的运作相互联系，一趟航班晚点可能会导致另外三四趟航班晚点，而这些晚点事件一整天都会带来后续影响。汉斯曼说：“就算有人把一块三明治做得一团糟，可另外40块却不会因此也一团糟。”

Airline pricing is something consumers find maddening, but it makes other businesses envious. Many businesses would like to segment customers into different groups, with different prices based on ability to pay, says Jan Brueckner, an economist at the University of California, Irvine, who studies the airline industry.

航空公司的定价也是一件让消费者颇为恼火的事情，但这却让其他企业羡慕不已。加州大学尔湾分校(University of California, Irvine)研究航空业的经济学家简·布鲁克纳(Jan Brueckner)称，许多行业都乐于将顾客划分为不同群体，根据他们的支付能力制定不同的价格。

Grocery stores try with coupons, but airlines have taken this model to an extreme. 'It's as if the prices of cornflakes were being changed hour by hour on store shelves,' said Dr. Brueckner.

一些百货商店尝试推出优惠券，不过把这种模式发挥到极致的还是航空公司。在布鲁克纳看来，航空公司的做法好比一小时接一小时地不断调整商店货架上玉米片的价格。

What if they were? We decided to conjure an alternate universe where airlines run everything:

如果真的这么做又会如何呢？我们决定构想出另一个由航空公司经营一切的世界：

Subwings Sandwich Shop

Subwings三明治店

Prices at Subwings go up closer to lunchtime, when demand for sandwiches peaks. It may cost more to produce a sandwich with roast beef than tuna, but if the bankers across the street prefer tuna, it's going to be the most expensive sandwich on the menu.

在接近午餐时段、对三明治的需求达到顶峰之时，Subwings会上调三明治的价格。烤牛肉三明治的生产成本也许比金枪鱼三明治高，但如果街对面的银行人士更喜欢金枪鱼三明治，那么它就会成为菜单上价格最贵的三明治。

Subwings pays close attention to competitors. If Joe's Subs dropped bologna from its menu, Subwings would quickly double the price on bologna sandwiches.

Subwings还会密切关注竞争对手。假如Joe's Subs将博洛尼亚香肠三明治从菜单中撤下，它就会把这种三明治的价格提高一倍。

At Subwings, customers must return their trays to an upright and locked position before departing.

此外，该店顾客在离开前还必须将他们的托盘放回一个竖立并上锁的地方。

Airmazon.com

Airmazon.com

Online shopping giant Airmazon.com employs a flotilla of computers to set the price of a pair of jeans. Those bought and worn on Tuesday and Wednesday in February are usually cheapest. Jeans intended as gifts in December cost more. If you want to wear the jeans right away, the price can be 10 times as much as jeans bought 30 days in advance. Any item purchased at any sort of discounted price will be nonreturnable, unless you pay a $200 exchange fee.

网络购物巨头Airmazon.com运用一批电脑来制定牛仔裤的价格。比方说，在2月份的周二和周三购买和穿着的牛仔裤通常最便宜，在12月份买来作为礼物的牛仔裤的价格会更贵。如果你想马上就能穿上新牛仔裤，那么其售价可能会高达提前30天购买的牛仔裤的10倍。无论以何折扣购买的商品都不得退换，除非你愿意付一笔200美元的换货费。

Airmazon has a customer loyalty program where points can be redeemed for merchandise, but your odds are better redeeming in slow sales months. Good luck trying to get popular jeans in July.

Airmazon有一个顾客忠诚计划，顾客可用积分兑换商品。不过，若在销售低迷的月份兑换，你的机会将更大一些。如果你想在7月兑换一条畅销款牛仔裤，那么只能祝你好运。

If Airmazon is late with delivery, the company won't be responsible if weather or traffic is to blame. If your jeans don't arrive because of a problem within Airmazon's control, the company lends you sweatpants.

假如Airmazon送货延误，如果是天气或交通原因，该公司不用承担责任。假如是在Airmazon可控范围内的问题导致你的牛仔裤没有送达，它会借给你一条运动裤先穿着。

Hotel L'Aire

L'Aire酒店

You book a hotel room and what do you get? Four walls for the night.

你在酒店订了一间房间，你会获得什么？供你过夜的四面 。

Hotel L'Aire has made all amenities a la carte so customers only pay for what they use. They call it GuestMegaChoice. Want a bed with your room? That's an extra $50 per night. Plan to take a shower? There's a hot-water surcharge of $15 per 10-minute shower. A TV is included, but if you want to use it, you can either bring your own remote control or rent one for $3 a night.

L'Aire酒店的所有设施和服务都实行按单收费，住客只为他们使用的设施和服务付费。他们把这称作“住客超级优选”(GuestMegaChoice)。想要房间有张床？那得另付50美元一晚。打算洗个热水澡？热水淋浴每10分钟收费15美元。客房内有一台电视，不过如果你想看的话，要么你用自己带来的遥控器，要么就以每晚3美元的价格租一个。

At L'Aire, reserving a room of your choice in advance will cost you a $10 fee. You can pay $10 extra for early check-in. Want to ride priority elevators? $10, please. Checking out online is free, but talking to a desk clerk carries a $25 real-person fee.

在L'Aire酒店，提前预定一个自己心仪的房间收费10美元，另付10美元可以提前入祝想搭优先乘坐的电梯？请付10美元。在线退房是免费的，但去前台找接待员办理退房则需支付25美元的人工费。

The Newark Pilots

纽瓦克“飞行员”棒球队(The Newark Pilots)

At Pilots baseball games, the buyer must attach a name to the ticket, and the name can't change. This practice is to prevent one person or company from buying a whole season of tickets岸season-ticket packages aren't offered by the Pilots岸and then letting a lot of different people use them.

买票观看“飞行员”队棒球比赛的观众必须在门票上加上姓名，而且不得更改姓名。这一做法是为了防止个人或企业购买一整季比赛的门票（“飞行员”队并不提供季票套餐），然后让一大群不同的人用这些票看比赛。

A policy of no name changes keeps groups that watch a lot of baseball, or resourceful entrepreneurs who might want to control ticket inventory, from buying up a lot of discount seats in advance and handing them out to others. (It's not a security rule: The Pilots, like some airlines, will change names on tickets, for a fee.)

不得更改姓名的政策是为了防止观看大量棒球比赛的团体、或是可能想控制门票存量的财力充裕的企业家提前大量购买打折票，然后把它们转给其他人。（这并不是一条万无一失的规定：与某些航空公司一样，“飞行员”队也可收费更改票上的姓名。）

Reselling Pilots tickets on StubHub is strictly prohibited. So is giving them to your buddy if you can't use them. The Pilots ticket office doesn't allow exchanges, either, unless you want to pay a change fee of $200 per ticket.

在StubHub上转卖“飞行员”队比赛门票是被严格禁止的，把你用不了的票送给好友同样不行。该队的售票处不允许换票，除非你愿意支付每张票200美元的换票费。

Occasionally, Pilots players arrive late for games or rain forces delays. No worry: The Pilots promise to keep you informed, though you can probably get better information on your smartphone.

“飞行员”队的球员偶尔也会比赛迟到，或者下雨也会迫使比赛推迟。不用担心：该队承诺一定会通知你，尽管你可能能从自己的智能手机上获得更有用的信息。

Whole Fare Market

Whole Fare百货店

To cram more customers into the store, Whole Fare, a high-end grocery store, recently squeezed its aisles closer together. That created more aisles and more revenue per store. Shoppers have to turn sideways to get down the aisles, however, and only shoppers who enter the store first have enough room for carts.

为了把更多顾客塞进店内，高端百货店Whole Fare最近将通道排列得更加紧凑。这可使每家门店的通道数增加，还可带来更多收入。沿着通道走路时，消费者不得不转到侧旁，而且只有首先进店的那批顾客才有足够的空间推着购物车。

Shoppers complain they are cramped throughout their visit. Whole Fare recently set up wider rows for customers willing to pay higher prices. They call it 'Economy Extra,' even though the rows are the same width the store used to have when it opened.

顾客们抱怨在整个购物过程都感觉拥挤。于是，Whole Fare最近为愿意付更多钱的顾客安排了更宽的走道。他们把它称为“超级经济购物区”(Economy Extra)，尽管那些通道只是和门店当初开张时的通道一样宽。

The company also launched a line of Regional Whole Fare Markets岸smaller stores run by contractors. Whole Fare says RWF stores allow the company to offer groceries to smaller communities not big enough to support a whole Whole Fare store. But its shoppers complain of higher prices, even smaller aisles and lost shopping bags.

该公司还开设了一批Whole Fare社区店，这些规模较小的门店由承包商经营。Whole Fare说，通过这些社区店，他们可以向规模不够大、不足以支撑一家完整的Whole Fare门店的小社区提供杂货。然而，到这些社区店购物的消费者抱怨它的商品售价更贵，走道还要更窄，而且他们的购物袋常常丢失。

Many customers say they are unnerved when a store employee calls out for people to 'prepare for final checkout.'

许多顾客说，每当听到门店工作人员大声喊着要大家“准备好总结账”时，他们总是觉得紧张不安。

Wright Brothers Elementary

莱特兄弟小学(Wright Brothers Elementary)

All backpacks must fit into the school-issued cubby hole and must weigh less than 25 pounds. If a backpack weighs more, an excess-weight backpack fee will be charged. If there is no room in the cubby for the backpack, it will be checked until your last class of the day. Gym bags can be stored in gym lockers for a $25-per-bag fee, which is waived for starting varsity players and any student holding a platinum-level bus pass.

所有书包必须符合学校分配的书包架的大小，而且重量不得超过25磅（约合11.3公斤）。书包一旦超重，学校将收取超重费。如果书包架没有地方存放书包，你可以把它寄存到你在当天的最后一堂课结束为止。运动包可存在体育馆的储物柜中，每个包收取25美元存包费，刚入队的校队队员及持有白金级公交通票的学生均可免交存包费。

Beginning in the fall, a fee will also be collected for cubby-stored backpacks.

另外，从秋季开始，将书包存在书包架上也将开始收费。