A budget airline(廉价航空公司)'s purpose is to offer cheap air travel(廉价航空旅行). But snapping one up for a bargain(以低价；便宜地) is another matter. On June 22nd, after weeks of rumoured interest, Castlelake, an American investment firm, went public(公开；向公众披露) with its offer to buy easyJet, a European low-cost carrier (lcc), for £4.7bn ($6.2bn), revealing that two lower offers had already been rebuffed(断然拒绝；回绝). EasyJet accused Castlelake of trying to buy the airline “on the cheap(便宜地；廉价地（常含贬义）)”. It rejected the bid, and another, for £4.9bn, on June 25th. Yet it has said it will now start talks with its suitor(追求者；求购者（尤指公司收购方）).
廉价航空公司的目标是提供廉价航空旅行。但以便宜的价格收购一家公司则是另一回事。6月22日，经过数周的传闻兴趣，美国投资公司Castlelake公开提出以47亿英镑（62亿美元）收购欧洲廉价航空公司易捷航空，并透露已有两次更低报价被拒绝。易捷航空指责Castlelake试图“低价”收购该航空公司。它拒绝了这一报价，并在6月25日拒绝了另一个49亿英镑的报价。然而，它表示现在将开始与其追求者谈判。
The airline business is tough. Fierce competition means generally meagre profits(微薄的利润), making unforeseen upheavals(不可预见的剧变)—such as the soaring cost of jet fuel(航空燃油成本飙升) resulting from America’s conflict with Iran—especially painful. Since the start of the year IATA, a trade body(行业组织；贸易机构), has cut in half(减半；砍半) its forecasts for the global industry’s overall net profits and net margins(净利润率), to $23bn and around 2%. Bankruptcies are frequent, such as the demise(倒闭；消亡) of Spirit, an American lcc, which went out of business(停业；倒闭) in May.
航空业是艰难的。激烈的竞争意味着利润普遍微薄，使得意外剧变——例如美国与伊朗冲突导致的航空燃油成本飙升——尤为痛苦。自年初以来，行业组织国际航空运输协会将其对全球行业总体净利润和净利润率的预测减半，降至230亿美元和约2%。破产频繁，例如美国廉价航空精神航空在5月倒闭。
The past financial performance of easyJet makes for pleasant reading(读起来令人愉快) against such a disagreeable background(在如此不利的背景下). Over the two financial years to September 2025 its annual revenue increased by around a quarter(约四分之一), to just over £10bn, with operating profits(营业利润) rising from £476m to £703m. More recently, however, the war in the Gulf has hit the airline hard(严重打击该航空公司). It relies heavily on(严重依赖) European leisure travellers(休闲旅客), many of whom have delayed booking holidays(推迟预订假期), forcing the airline to keep ticket prices low(保持低票价). The result is that Barclays, a bank, reckons on(预计；指望（非正式）) operating profits of just £107m this year. That is why, prior to rumours of(在……的传闻之前) Castlelake’s interest, easyJet’s share price was down by nearly a quarter(下跌了近四分之一) from the start of the year.
在如此不利的背景下，易捷航空过去的财务表现令人欣慰。在截至2025年9月的两个财年中，其年收入增长了约四分之一，达到略高于100亿英镑，营业利润从4.76亿英镑增加到7.03亿英镑。然而，最近海湾战争严重打击了该航空公司。它严重依赖欧洲休闲旅客，其中许多人推迟了预订假期，迫使该航空公司保持低票价。结果是，巴克莱银行预计今年的营业利润仅为1.07亿英镑。这就是为什么在Castlelake的兴趣传闻之前，易捷航空的股价自年初以来下跌了近四分之一。