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.
Qantas plans to dramatically increase the number of widebody aircraft flying Australian transcontinental routes to Perth and reintroduce Boeing 747-400s on some of these long-haul domestic flights. By bringing in 747s and more Airbus A330s, Qantas will boost capacity by about 15% on routes from Perth to eastern cities Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. Widebodies will now account for 90% of the flights on these routes.
A third runway at Hong Kong International Airport and further air traffic control improvements in the Pearl River Delta region are needed to accommodate growing demand, says the International Air Transport Association.
The Obama administration’s $18.66 billion fiscal 2012 budget request for the FAA reduces guaranteed airport grant money by more than $1 billion and asks Congress to alleviate this by approving an increase in passenger facility charges (PFCs) for "large" airports.
