 | | | | | | | |
| Business Words in the News
Friday 25 January 2002
Vocabulary from the business news. Listen to and read the report then find explanations of difficult words below.
| |
|
| |  | | |
Low Cost Airlines Prosper
Summary: The European airline Ryanair is to buy a hundred Boeing passenger jets. The huge order comes at a time when most of the large airlines are in a deep financial crisis. This report from Mark Gregory, the BBC's Business Reporter:
| | |
|
| | The News | |
| | | Ryanair, based in Ireland, will take delivery of the planes over the next eight years. Its placed a firm order for a hundred aircraft, and has an option to buy a further 50. The deal would be worth around nine billion dollars at Boeing's official prices, but Ryanair paid far less than this.
The global airline industry has yet to recover from the slump in passenger numbers that followed the events of September the 11th. Ryanair is one of very few airlines in a position to buy new jets. Its business is booming - passengers have flocked to take advantage of fares on European routes that are up to ten times cheaper than standard economy tickets from the big name airlines like British Airways or Lufthansa.
Analysts believe Boeing offered unprecedented price discounts and advantageous financing terms to secure the deal. The planes are all variants of Boeing's workhorse for short flights, the 737. The huge scale of the deal is a further sign of how the European airline business has been turned upside down by the new generation of ultra low cost carriers. They offer a no frills service at rock bottom prices, flying into secondary airports where landing charges are low. Easyjet, another budget airline, has also announced a big order for up to 75 new planes in recent weeks.
MARK GREGORY, BBC, LONDON
| | |
|
| | The Words
| |
| | | firm order
definite order
| | |
| | | business is booming
business is doing very well
| | |
| | | flocked
rushed in large numbers
| | |
| | | unprecedented
has not happened before
| | |
| | | advantageous financing terms
a cheap way of paying for the aircraft
| | |
| | | workhorse
a vehicle or machine that is very useful in doing ordinary, continuous jobs
| | |
| | | ultra
extremely
| | |
| | | no frills service
very basic service, no free drinks or meals on the flight
| | |
| | | rock bottom prices
very, very cheap prices
| | |
| | | landing charges
the cost of landing a plane at an airport
| | |
|
|
| | Read more about this story | |
| | | |
|
