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 reported a strong financial performance for the six months through Dec. 31, although it faces challenges in the current six-month period due to fuel price rises and the effect of the devastating Christchurch earthquake.
The Virgin Blue Group says the performance of its long-haul operation is improving, and it has underscored its regional growth by announcing the addition of ATR 72 turboprops. The Australian carrier will introduce up to 18 ATR 72s to boost its regional network. The aircraft will be wet-leased from alliance partner Skywest Airlines but branded as Virgin Blue. This arrangement had been signaled previously, although the choice of aircraft had not been revealed.
A major earthquake in Christchurch, New Zealand, shut down the city’s airport Feb. 22 and caused the evacuation of the country’s main air traffic control center, grounding flights nationwide. Christchurch International Airport was closed to all commercial flights following the devastating magnitude 6.3 earthquake that struck the city before 1 p.m. (local time) on Feb. 22. The airport reopened – for domestic operations at least – at 8 a.m. Feb. 23. International service may resume later in the afternoon.
