The coronavirus has really hurt the airline industry.
Air travel in the USA is down by 95%.
Normally there are up to 20 thousand planes in the air.
Globally, scheduled flights are down by 63%.
Some airlines are transporting commercial goods with passenger planes.
The problem is that planes cannot just stay on the road waiting for someone to need them.
They need regular maintenance even if they are not flying.
There are three parking lots for planes in the USA.
They are usually in the desert.
A standard American football field is 49 meters wide.
A Boeing 737 is a not a big plane.
It only has 2 engines.
It is 35 meters wide.
The largest plane in the world is about 80 meters wide.
Right now, 100% of the 80-meter-wide airplanes are parked.
An app has been developed to help companies park their aircraft and park the planes.
It is important to know whether the plane will need maintenance and how long it will be parked.
If the airplanes haven’t been flown in several weeks, they will need a lot of maintenance to be ready to fly.
So, right now many companies are alternating the airplanes to keep more airplanes flying.
★重点单词：Key words
Hurt: 伤害
Passenger: 乘客
Industry:行业
Globally:全球得
Schedule:预定
Commercial goods:商品
Regular:正常
Maintenance:保养
Engines: 引擎
Developed: 开展
Alternating:交替
★小测试：Questions
1. Why do companies alternate between the planes they use?
2. How do companies know where planes are parked and whether or not they need maintenance?
3. How many engines are on a 737?
★上期答案：Answers to "Three things you PROBABLY didn't know about Chicago"
1.The people of Chicago used jack screws to lift their buildings.
2. McDonald's and Boeing are headquartered in Chicago, along with many other companies.
3. The buildings were made of steel and stone after the fire.
集团总部总裁办 Ian Antrim