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 New Zealand government has renewed its approval of the Air New Zealand-Virgin Australia partnership, essentially affirming the same capacity conditions that the Australian government already has imposed on the two airlines. The New Zealand Ministry of Transport and the Australian competition watchdog authorized the partnership through 2018, which means that it will expire in the same year as the partnership authority granted Emirates Airline and Qantas Airways.
While campaign promises must always be viewed cautiously, it appears that the overthrow of Australia's Labor government will benefit airlines in a few key areas. Most notably, the new Liberal-National Coalition government has signaled that it will throw out a carbon tax that has been severely hurting airline profits.
Indonesia’s Lion Air intends to launch its Thailand-based joint venture carrier this year with a fleet of two Boeing 737-900ERs, a Lion Air spokesman tells Aviation Week. According to the spokesman, Thai Lion Air is expected to receive regulatory approval and begin operations by the end of this year. The 737-900ERs, configured the same as the aircraft in Lion’s Indonesia-based fleet, initially will serve three routes from Bangkok: Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur and the northern Thai city of Chiang Mai.
