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.
Indonesia’s Lion Air is moving closer to completing the first phase of its new maintenance, repair and overhaul facility in Batam, which will help it handle the massive number of aircraft deliveries the carrier has scheduled and make it a player in the third-party MRO market.
Japan’s latest low-cost carrier, Vanilla Air, is set to receive its second and third Airbus A320s in the next two months as the new airline prepares to broaden its international and domestic network. Vanilla Air is being established as a subsidiary of All Nippon Airways (ANA), replacing the failed AirAsia Japan joint venture. The carrier has already received its first A320 and is scheduled to launch on Dec. 20 with flights from Tokyo’s Narita International Airport to Naha Airport in Okinawa and Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport in Taipei.
U.S. safety officials are expected to raise the Philippine air safety rating back up to category 1 this week, according to the Philippine aviation safety agency. The Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) is telling local media that a delegation of senior FAA officials will be visiting today, and that they will likely make an announcement regarding the Philippine safety rating. A category one classification would allow Philippine carriers to add or expand service to the U.S., which would benefit both Philippine Airlines (PAL) and Cebu Pacific.
