Adrian is Auckland bureau chief for Aviation Week, based in New Zealand. He covers commercial aviation in the Asia-Pacific region.
Adrian was previously based in Aviation Week’s Washington office for nine years, writing for a range of the group’s publications and covering many aspects of the commercial aviation industry. He has won Australasian and international awards for his aviation writing.
Prior to joining Aviation Week in 2002, Adrian covered aviation industry and policy issues for two other publishing companies in Washington. He has also worked for newspapers in Texas and New Zealand, covering a wide range of topics. Adrian graduated from Auckland University with a degree in history and English in 1992.
Cathay Pacific is benefiting from strong demand across most of its international network, although it also faces headaches from declining yields and a slowdown in cargo markets. The carrier reported a dramatic improvement in profit for the six months through June 30. While this was partly due to healthy economy class traffic, it was also boosted by other factors, including declining fuel costs and improvements by subsidiaries and companies in which Cathay holds stakes, such as Air China.
AirAsia X blames a string of setbacks in various markets for a bleak second-quarter performance, although it remains confident that it can achieve a turnaround in the second half of the year.
Sydney Airport has struck a deal with Qantas to buy back the lease on one of the main terminal buildings, which will give the airport more flexibility in its redevelopment plans. Qantas currently has a lease on Terminal 3 through 2019, but the airport will pay A$535 million (U.S.$392 million) to end the arrangement this year. Under the deal, Qantas will continue to use the entire terminal for its domestic operations until 2019, and will occupy most of the facility from 2019 to 2025. The airline will pay usage fees in the same way as other airline tenants.
