空中客车：王子买飞行宫殿

文章作者 100test 发表时间 2008:03:31 12:33:12
来源 100Test.Com百考试题网

　　原文：

　　Airbus： Prince buys flying palace

　　DUBAI， United Arab Emirates （AP）

　　—— In the annals of excess， it could be a new high： a more than $300 million， supersized luxury airplane， bought and outfitted solely for the private comfort of a Saudi Arabian billionaire. Saudi billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal signs his order for a private Airbus A380 on Monday.

　　Once done， the Airbus A380， the worlds biggest passenger plane，will be a "flying palace" for Prince Alwaleed bin Talal， the manufacturer announced Monday.

　　Airbus SAS would not give a specific price tag for the VIP double-decker jet， with its football field-length wings， saying only that it would cost more than the aircrafts list price of $320 million.

　　That doesnt even include the money the prince will spend to custom fit the nearly 6，000-square foot plane to include whatever he wants. The options include private bedrooms， a movie theater or even a gym with a Jacuzzi. Hell also need a flight crew of about 15 to operate the luxury liner.

　　"Prince Alwaleed is the first and， so far， the only customer of this aircraft，" said David Velupillai， the spokesman of the Airbus，which announced the luxury order at the Dubai International Airshow.

　　Its all just spending cash for bin Talal —— Citigroup Inc.s biggest individual shareholder and the worlds 13th richest person with assets around $20 billion.

　　As a member of the Saudi royal family， he benefits from the countrys vast oil wealth. But much of bin Talals huge fortune comes from his investment firm， the $25-billion Kingdom Holding Co. It has stakes in Rupert Murdochs News Corp.， Fairmont Raffles Hotels International Inc.， Time Warner Inc.， Apple Inc.，PepsiCo Inc.， Walt Disney Co. to name a few major corporations.

　　The prince， who is in his early 50s， appears to have a taste for super-sized jumbo jets. He already is the only private owner of a Boeing 747-400， Airbus said.

　　"Its like buying a new car or a new TV，" Velupillai told The Associated Press. "One wants something bigger and better."

　　Airbus would not release many details about bin Talals VIP A380， which dwarfs the 747 —— formerly the worlds most spacious plane. Staff who answered the phone at bin Talals office on Monday in Saudi Arabia said he was unavailable to comment.

　　The commercial A380，which made its maiden voyage with Singapore Airlines last month， is as tall as a seven-story building with each wing big enough to hold 70 cars. It is capable of carrying 853 passengers in an all-economy class configuration.

　　Take out the seats， and the plane can be transformed into a flying mansion.

　　阿拉伯联合酋长国迪拜-
　　在史册上这可能是一个新高度： 3亿多美元的超大型豪华飞机被一家沙特阿拉伯亿万富翁购买并特别定制。
　　空客公司星期一宣布，一旦合同完成，空客A380，这种世界上最大的载客飞机，将成为阿勒瓦利德。本。塔拉勒王子的"飞行宫殿".空中客车公司将不会对这种贵宾双层客机给出一个明确的标价，这种飞机有足球场一样长的翅膀，只说它的价格将超过了其3.2亿美元的目录价格。
　　但这还未包括王子将为近6000平方尺的飞机个人定制的花费。该方案包括私人卧室，一家电影院甚至健身房与水力按摩池。 他还需要一个约15人的机组来管理这架豪华座机。
　　空中客车的发言人David Velupillai在迪拜国际航空展宣布这项豪华订单时宣布“王子阿勒瓦利德是截至目前为止第一位拥有这种飞机的客户”。
　　用现金购买这架飞机的主人本塔拉勒为花旗集团最大的个人股东和世界的第1 3位最富有的人，拥有资产约2 00亿美元。
　　作为沙特王室成员，他从国家巨大的石油资源中受益。 但大多本塔拉勒亲王的巨额财富来自他的投资公司，价值 250亿美元的王国控股公司。其公司在传媒大亨默多克旗下的新闻集团，费尔蒙特莱佛士酒店国际公司，时代华纳公司，苹果公司，百事可乐，华特迪士尼公司都拥有股份。
　　这位王子，年纪刚过50，似乎对超大型飞机情有独钟。 空中客车公司说，他已经是波音747-400型客机的唯一私人拥有者。
　　“这就像买了一辆新车或一个新的电视" ，Velupillai 告诉美联社记者，"人们总想要东西更大更好" .空中客车公司没再透露更多有关本塔拉勒私人豪华A380飞机的细节，这架飞机使曾经世界上最宽的747飞机相形见绌。 本塔拉勒私办公室的员工在接受电话采访时表示无法作出任何评论。
　　上月交付新加坡航空公司首航的商务A380客机足有七层楼高，大小足以容纳70辆汽车。在全部为经济舱的配置下能乘坐853人。
　　将座位拆除，飞机可变为一座飞行住宅。