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 is launching a sweeping review of its long-haul business, which will encompass everything from airline partnerships to fleet mix and aircraft configuration. The review is prompted by underperformance of the long-haul division compared with the airline’s other operations. Long-haul routes have been collectively losing NZ$1 million ($800,000) per week for the past six months, one of the main reasons Air NZ’s pre-tax profit dropped 45% to NZ$75 million for the fiscal year through June 30.
China Eastern Airlines has become the second Chinese-based carrier within a month to take delivery of a Boeing 737-700 configured with both the recently developed high-altitude/high-temperature airport operations package and the 787-inspired Boeing Sky Interior.
Auckland International Airport is reviving plans to combine its international and domestic terminals and build a second runway, with a timeline for these major development projects to be decided soon. The projects have been on the airport’s master plan for several years, but now the airport intends to bring them to fruition, the airport’s CEO Simon Moutter tells Aviation Week. Preparatory work on a new runway had begun, but was shelved in 2009 as a result of the global financial crisis.
