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.
Korean Air says its preparations for the Airbus A380 are on track, as the carrier’s first four aircraft move through the final assembly process in Toulouse. The first of the Korean A380s is waiting for its initial test flight and is then scheduled to be sent to Hamburg in November for final production processes, such as cabin installation and painting. Delivery of this first aircraft is scheduled in May, and the other three in assembly will be delivered in June, July and August.
U.S. major airlines once again saw a strong year-on-year revenue increase in September, and the trend of healthy yield growth is also continuing. Passenger revenue was up 19% in September, according to the Air Transport Association. This represents the ninth consecutive month of revenue increases. The ATA figures are based on seven major airlines and selected affiliates. September revenue was up 13% for domestic operations and 32% for international. Revenue passenger miles rose by 7%, and yield climbed 11%.
While Hawaiian Airlines is facing increasing competitive pressure on its Hawaii-West Coast routes, all indications are that its new long-haul flights to Korea and Japan will be extremely successful. Hawaiian’s service from Honolulu to Tokyo Haneda International Airport is scheduled to launch in November, and Seoul flights will begin in early 2011. Hawaiian CEO Mark Dunkerley says preparations for the two routes continue on schedule. “We could not be more pleased with the timing” of these new services, Dunkerley says.
