Nanjing Lukou International Airport has long been, well, not very good. Yet, hope is on the horizon, as T3 begins to take shape, with a major international airline group possibly key to ending Nanjing’s reputation as a regional hub at best.
南京禄口国际机场长期以来，嗯，不太好。然而，随着 T3 航站楼开始成形，希望就在眼前，一家大型国际航空集团可能是终结南京作为区域枢纽声誉的关键。
The existing set up at Lukou is so restricted that it has allowed itself to be overtaken by surrounding airports, many just an hour or two away by train which have also been in the process of accelerated development while Nanjing has stood stagnant.
禄口机场现有的设施非常有限，以至于被周围的机场超越，许多机场距离酒店只有一两个小时的火车路程，而这些机场也处于加速发展的过程中，而南京却停滞不前。
Looking to the international segment as an example, Nanjing still only operates international flights to other destinations in Asia with the exception of Melbourne and Sydney in Australia, and Paris in France.
以国际航线为例，南京目前仅运营飞往亚洲其他目的地的国际航班，但澳大利亚墨尔本和悉尼以及法国巴黎除外。
In the good old days, however, Lukou used to operate multiple weekly services to and from Frankfurt with Lufthansa, and Helsinki with Finnair. But the Pandemic and the Ukraine-Russia conflict effectively put an end to that with Russia withdrawing flying rights over its territory to foreign airlines.
然而，在过去的美好时光，禄口航空每周运营多趟汉莎航空往返法兰克福的航班，以及芬兰航空往返赫尔辛基的多趟航班。但大流行和乌克兰与俄罗斯的冲突实际上结束了这种情况，俄罗斯撤回了外国航空公司在其领土上空的飞行权。
Yet those were the symptoms for the flights’ cancellations rather than their cause. And this is where T3 stands with a unique opportunity to reposition itself as a larger hub for more international airlines flying to Europe, the USA and elsewhere. It’s an opportunity that comes in just one form; Star Alliance.
然而，这些只是航班取消的症状，而不是原因。这就是 T3 拥有独特机会的地方，可以将自己重新定位为更大的枢纽，为更多飞往欧洲、美国和其他地方的国际航空公司提供服务。这是一个只有一种形式的机会；星空联盟。
While the benefits of the world’s first major airline alliance that remains the biggest today are evident and well known to passengers, the advantages it presents to airports and its member airlines are less so.
虽然世界上第一个主要航空联盟（至今仍然是最大的）的好处是显而易见且为乘客所熟知的，但它为机场及其成员航空公司带来的优势却不那么明显。
Among the many alternative airlines, prioritizing the business of Star Alliance member airlines is of unique strategic value. The Star Alliance’s “Under One Roof” program means that member airlines operate in the same terminals at major airports, while adopting unified product and service standards. This model not only facilitates passenger travel and improves transit efficiency, but also helps airlines reduce operating costs, increase revenue, and improve product and service consistency.
在众多替代航空公司中，优先考虑星空联盟成员航空公司的业务具有独特的战略价值。星空联盟的“同一个屋檐下”计划是指成员航空公司在主要机场的同一航站楼内运营，同时采用统一的产品和服务标准。这种模式不仅方便旅客出行、提高中转效率，还能帮助航空公司降低运营成本、增加收入、提高产品和服务的一致性。
For Nanjing Airport, the choice of Star Alliance as a priority development objective for the T3 terminal building brings has numerous strategic advantages.
对于南京机场而言，选择星空联盟作为T3航站楼的优先发展目标，具有诸多战略优势。
Firstly, Star Alliance hubs are extremely scarce in China’s hinterlands. The only real Star Alliance hub in mainland China is Beijing Capital Airport. Yet, there are a large number of SkyTeam hubs, including those in Shanghai, Xi’an, Kunming and Xiamen. In fact, there is somewhat of an excess supply.
首先，星空联盟枢纽在中国腹地极为稀缺。北京首都机场是中国大陆唯一真正的星空联盟枢纽。然而，天合联盟枢纽数量众多，包括上海、西安、昆明和厦门。事实上，供应有些过剩。
Making Nanjing airport the only Star Alliance international hub in the region would also therefore create a differentiated competitive barrier with other nearby hub airports.
因此，使南京机场成为该地区唯一的星空联盟国际枢纽机场，也将与附近其他枢纽机场形成差异化的竞争壁垒。
With Star Alliance partners including Singapore Airlines, Thai Airlines, All Nippon Airways, Lufthansa, United Airlines, Turkish Airlines, Ethiopian Airlines and other leading global operators, a hub at Nanjing could significantly enrich the City’s international airline network, especially as regards services to Europe, the North America, the Middle East and elsewhere.
星空联盟的合作伙伴包括新加坡航空、泰国航空、全日空航空、汉莎航空、联合航空、土耳其航空、埃塞俄比亚航空和其他全球领先的运营商，南京航空枢纽可以极大地丰富南京市的国际航空网络，特别是在飞往欧洲、北美、中东和其他地区的服务方面。
All this said however, Nanjing faces some pretty steep competition from other nearby regional airports, namely Pudong, Xiaoshan, Nantong New Airport that can be considered Shanghai’s third airport, and other new core hubs all over the Yangtze River Delta.
尽管如此，南京仍面临着来自附近其他支线机场的相当激烈的竞争，包括浦东机场、萧山机场、可被视为上海第三机场的南通新机场，以及整个长三角地区的其他新核心枢纽。
Then there is the domestic front, on which China Eastern Jiangsu is currently the largest airline based out of Lukou, accounting for nearly a third of the local market share in Nanjing, as aviation platform “Fly the YRD” (飞跃长三角) reports. It’s a pattern that gives China Eastern a strong voice when it comes to time resources, route approvals and ground services.
国内方面，据航空平台“飞跃长三角”报道，目前江苏东航是禄口以外最大的航空公司，占据南京当地近三分之一的市场份额。这种模式让东航在时间资源、航线审批、地面服务等方面拥有强大的话语权。
However, the costs of a high dependence on a single airline are also becoming increasingly evident. Industry insiders have pointed out that if Jiangsu did not hand out subsidies, China Eastern wouldn’t even operate flights out of Nanjing, likely otherwise continuing its expansion at Shanghai Pudong. In fact, it is said that, for many years now, China Eastern has never fulfilled the original objectives of its strategic cooperation agreement signed with Jiangsu.
然而，高度依赖单一航空公司的成本也变得越来越明显。业内人士指出，如果江苏不发放补贴，东航甚至不会运营从南京起飞的航班，否则很可能会继续在上海浦东扩张。事实上，据称，多年来，东航始终没有实现与江苏签署战略合作协议的初衷。
So looking to the future, T1 can be used as a domestic low-cost and small and medium-sized airlines exclusive terminal, featuring simplicity and efficiency, attracting travelers from the entire Yangtze River Delta by extremely low fares and special tourist destinations.
展望未来，T1可以作为国内低成本、中小航空公司的专属航站楼，以简洁、高效为特色，以极低的票价和特色旅游目的地吸引整个长三角的旅客。
China Eastern Airlines could continue its domination of T2; the cost of remaining in T2 is the lowest, and its existing seat resources are sufficient for future development. T2 might be considered as an exclusive terminal for China Eastern and its deep-rooted partners, enabling it to make necessary facilities and process modifications to T2 according to demand. That would make T2 a regional hub for SkyTeam.
东航或将延续T2航站楼霸主地位；留在T2的成本最低，现有座位资源足以满足未来的发展。 T2可能被视为东航及其根深蒂固的合作伙伴的专属航站楼，使其可以根据需求对T2进行必要的设施和流程改造。这将使 T2 成为天合联盟的区域枢纽。
But then T3. This is not a simple operational question, but a strategic choice that reflects the future, one which is crucial to the development of Nanjing’s airport over as much as the next 30 years. It’s a choice even more important than how to build it.
但接下来是T3。这不是一个简单的运营问题，而是一个面向未来的战略选择，对南京机场未来30年的发展至关重要。这是一个比如何构建它更重要的选择。
So what next for Lukou as T3 begins to take shape? Well, if they have their wits about them, the Airport’s operator, Eastern Airports, will get Star Alliance on board asap. Yet, as the saying goes, “Don’t count your chickens until they’re hatched”. Lukou’s shortcomings were displayed in a fantastical fiasco in what was the biggest outbreak of COVID after Wuhan in 2021. Terminal 3 of Nanijng Lukou International Airport is too good an opportunity to pass up; to make amends and present a truly global face to the world.
那么，随着T3初具规模，禄口接下来会做什么呢？好吧，如果机场运营商东方机场有足够的智慧，他们将尽快让星空联盟加入。然而，正如俗话所说，“鸡还没孵出来，别数鸡”。禄口机场的短板在这场2021年继武汉之后最大规模的新冠疫情爆发中展现得淋漓尽致。南京禄口国际机场3号航站楼是一个不容错过的好机会；做出弥补并向世界展示真正的全球面孔。
