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.
House Democrats could decide transportation and aviation committee leadership roles in late November, including who will replace current transportation heavyweight Rep. James Oberstar (D-Minn.). The House is expected to return for a “lame duck” session in mid-November. Decisions on committee ranking members will likely be made in the week of Nov. 29, a House staffer says. Another source, however, believes they may not be resolved by yearend. Democrats lost control of the House in the Nov. 2 election.
Australia’s main competition watchdog has sent a detailed list of questions to Qantas to gauge what the carrier’s reactions would be to a joint venture between Virgin Blue and Air New Zealand. The list of 18 questions indicates that the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) is taking a serious new look at the Virgin Blue-Air NZ application. While the ACCC announced a preliminary rejection of the deal, the carriers have since modified their proposal significantly in a bid to change the regulator’s mind before its final decision.
Qantas was expected over the weekend to return all six of its Airbus A380s to service after engineers completed inspection following the engine failure Nov. 4 on a Singapore-Sydney flight. The airline found itself in another emergency situation Nov. 5 when one of its 747 engines flamed out, forcing the aircraft to return to Singapore. It was departing for Sydney as Flight QF6.
