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.
The highly competitive Hawaii-Australasia market is heating up further, with Qantas subsidiary Jetstar introducing a new widebody route between Brisbane and Honolulu. The Qantas Group is competing with Hawaiian Airlines and its code-share partner Virgin Australia in the Hawaii market. Hawaiian has also been pushing into the New Zealand market, where it vies with Air New Zealand. Jetstar's new Airbus A330 service is scheduled to begin Dec. 14, subject to government approval. It will operate three times a week in peak season, and twice a week off-peak.
Japan Airlines (JAL) says there will be little disruption for the staff of JAL Express (JEX) when the subsidiary is fully merged into the parent carrier’s mainline operation. JAL recently announced that it has decided to absorb JEX effective Oct. 1, which will give it more flexibility in matching capacity to demand. JEX primarily operates narrowbody aircraft on regional routes for JAL.
Hawaiian carrier Island Air says it plans to use the Bombardier Q400 aircraft it has ordered for fleet expansion rather than replacement. The airline – owned by Oracle founder Larry Ellison – has placed orders for two Q400s with options for another four (see previous story page ). These will add to its existing fleet of five ATR 72s, Island Air CEO Paul Casey says in a statement supplied to Aviation Week.
