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 Oneworld Alliance is expected to strengthen its reach in the key India market as an important benefit of adding SriLankan Airlines as a member. Oneworld revealed SriLankan’s prospective membership on June 11 during the International Air Transport Association’s annual general meeting in Beijing. Alliance CEO Bruce Ashby estimates it will take 18-24 months for the membership process to be completed.
European manufacturer Saab is strengthening its foothold in the air traffic management (ATM) sector with plans to acquire Netherlands-based company HITT. If successful, the HITT takeover would follow Saab’s acquisition of U.S. company Sensis Corp. last year. HITT is a prominent supplier of advanced surface movement guidance and control systems (A-SMGCS) to airports and ATM organizations, one of Saab Sensis’s core markets.
Etihad Airways is pursuing a stake of up to 10% in Virgin Australia, taking advantage of a recent restructuring of the Australian carrier that is aimed at allowing more overseas investment. Etihad has acquired a 3.96% share of Virgin Australia’s domestic entity on the stock market in recent weeks, and CEO James Hogan says his intention is to take the stake up to 10%. He did not say how much he will invest for the stake.
