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.
Boeing is sending one of its 787-8 test aircraft on a quick tour to Australia and New Zealand, where two major customers for the model are based. The 787 will be at Air New Zealand’s engineering base in Auckland Nov. 12-14. The carrier is the launch customer for the 787-9. The 787 will next go to Sydney and Melbourne about Nov. 15-16 to demonstrate the aircraft to Qantas, which expects to receive its first 787s next year.
Hawaiian Airlines says it is seeing no sign of demand weakening due to an uncertain economic outlook, and its new international routes in particular continue to yield impressive results. There has not been a drop in forward bookings “despite the economic doom and gloom so widely reported,” Hawaiian CEO Mark Dunkerley said Oct. 18 during the carrier’s third-quarter earnings call.
Air New Zealand plans to boost the size of its regional fleet with an order for seven ATR 72-600s, which will be the largest of the carrier’s turboprop types. The first two of the 68-seat ATRs are scheduled to be delivered in October and December next year, with another two in 2013 and one each in the following three years. Air NZ also secured options for another five aircraft, which would be available for delivery in 2014-2016. With this order, the carrier will become the largest ATR operator in the Pacific region.
