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 proposed merger between American Airlines and US Airways has been given the green light by a bankruptcy court, although more approvals are needed before the deal can be finalized. After a hearing in New York on March 27, the Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York approved the merger plan. The widely-expected decision is an important step in American’s emergence from bankruptcy protection. However, American still needs to gain court approval for its reorganization plan, and regulatory clearance also is needed for the US Airways merger.
Airbus ProSky, the airframer’s air traffic management (ATM) subsidiary, has undergone a leadership change. Aviation Week has learned that Airbus ProSky’s previous CEO, Eric Stefanello, has left the company. His replacement is Paul-Franck Bijou, who was ProSky’s VP-global customer affairs. Bijou also was CEO of Quovadis, one of the companies owned by Airbus that is within the ProSky group.
Australia’s competition watchdog has approved partnership between Qantas and Emirates Airline with essentially no changes to its earlier draft ruling, although it refutes Qantas’s claims that the partnership is needed to preserve its international operation. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s (ACCC’s) authorization was expected, since the regulator had already issued a draft approval and interim authority to begin marketing the alliance. The two carriers intend to partner on major international routes from March 31.
