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.
AirAsia’s growth in the Philippines will include a major expansion of operations at Mactan-Cebu International, the country’s second busiest airport. The AirAsia group is realigning the two Philippine joint venture carriers in which it holds major stakes. The group’s first foothold in the country was AirAsia Philippines (AAP), a relatively small carrier operating a few Airbus A320s. Through AAP, AirAsia in May bought into the much larger Zest Air, which it is in the process of rebranding as AirAsia Zest.
The long-haul arm of the AirAsia group, AirAsia X, has taken a step closer to gaining the government approvals it needs to establish a joint venture affiliate in Thailand. Thailand’s Department of Civil Aviation has granted an air operator’s license (AOL) for Thai AirAsia X. The airline will also need an air operator’s certificate (AOC), and Malaysia-based AirAsia X says it expects that to be issued by the end of this year. This approval would clear the way for the new carrier to begin flying in the first quarter of 2014, as planned.
Brisbane International Airport has launched a key stage in its controversial new runway project, even though it has still not reached a funding deal with its largest operator, Qantas Airways. The airport has been attempting to gain support from tenant airlines for its A$1.35 billion ($1.3 billion) second parallel runway, since the carriers will be helping pay for it through ticket taxes. An airport spokeswoman says of all the airlines using Brisbane only Qantas is not onboard.
