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.
Virgin Australia plans to introduce widebody service on more key domestic routes when it receives additional Airbus A330-200s in May. The carrier already operates two leased A330s, formerly owned by Emirates, on domestic routes. Its first two new A330s are expected to arrive in April, a Virgin Australia spokeswoman says.
The arrival of two more Airbus A380s last month is enabling Qantas to introduce the aircraft on its Sydney-Hong Kong route, as well as boosting A380 service in other markets. The aircraft are the 11th and 12th A380s for Qantas. The carrier is not receiving any A380s this year, and the next two are not due until early 2013, an airline spokesman says.
Three teams of companies are bidding to provide an air-to-ground data communications network for the FAA that will be a vital element of the NextGen modernization effort, with a contract award expected in June. FAA’s Data Comm program will enable controllers to relay takeoff clearance and other instructions to pilots via text, rather than voice. This will make it quicker to send and revise clearances, while reducing errors. It also will enable the transmission of complex flight profiles required by NextGen and reduce radio frequency congestion.
