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.
Virgin Australia has signaled that it will record a substantial loss for the six months through Dec. 31, confirming that upcoming earnings reports for this period will make grim reading for both of Australia’s major carriers.
South African Airways (SAA) will improve its access to the Australian market thanks to a new code share with Virgin Australia, although the deal is not reciprocal and Virgin will still link to South Africa via Singapore Airlines. SAA operates a flight from Johannesburg to Perth, and under the new agreement it will place its code on Virgin Australia domestic flights from Perth to eastern cities Adelaide, Brisbane and Melbourne.
Jetstar Airways is introducing Boeing 787s on more routes between Australia and Southeast Asia leisure destinations as it begins the process of phasing out its Airbus A330 fleet. The airline has announced plans to operate the 787 on some of its flights between Melbourne and Phuket, Thailand, beginning Feb. 9, which will be its fourth route using that model. The carrier introduced the 787 on routes from Melbourne and Sydney to Bali in December and January, respectively, and on its Sydney-Phuket route on Feb. 3.
