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.
Air New Zealand plans to return seven grounded Beechcraft 1900Ds to service sometime next month, as it works to repair hairline cracks that were discovered in the tail structures of the aircraft. The carrier grounded its entire fleet of 18 1900Ds on Aug. 7 after the cracking was found near the top of the vertical stabilizer during a routine inspection of one aircraft. Since then, 11 aircraft have been returned to service after being inspected and “were found to meet operational standards,” an airline spokeswoman says.
Virgin Australia is injecting more widebody aircraft into its domestic transcontinental routes, as it continues to battle Qantas in this crucial market. The carrier gradually is up-gauging services between eastern cities and Perth from Boeing 737-800s to Airbus A330-200s. On Sept. 21 Virgin Australia is set to begin flying its fifth A330, which will allow it to have widebody service on all of its five daily flights from Melbourne to Perth.
