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 European Commission is focusing too heavily on chasing states for failing to comply with airspace redesign mandates, prominent air traffic management (ATM) officials say. Not only is it questionable whether the EC will prevail with sanctions, but expectations for the redesign initiative are unrealistic, according to the officials. Also, other programs and concepts have emerged that offer greater potential for ATM reform.
Taxes on carbon emissions were also a notable feature of the latest round of earnings reports in Australia. The Australian government introduced a carbon tax in July 2012, so this was the first reporting period to include the cost to airlines. Virgin Australia says the per-passenger carbon tax—which applies only to domestic flights—totaled A$24.4 million in the six months through Dec. 31. To put this in perspective, that amount is larger than its net profit for the period.
The Civil Air Navigation Services Organization (Canso) is coming of age as one of the senior aviation alphabet groups, as forays into new ventures help raise its profile and provide the resources needed to expand its role.
