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 has extended its information technology contract with IBM through 2017 despite criticizing the technology company following a system failure last year. The existing contract had two years left before it was to expire, and was extended by another five years. IBM has worked with Air New Zealand for the past 13 years. That relationship was severely tested in October 2009 when a data-center outage wreaked havoc in the Air NZ operation.
While airline profits continue to strengthen, demand growth is showing definite signs of slowing, according to the International Air Transport Association. The net profit tally for the second quarter–now including 57 carriers–has risen to $4.4 billion. Last year, the same sample group posted a $620 million net loss. The first quarter of 2010 produced a $1.9 billion loss. IATA says these latest data are consistent with its forecast of an $8.9-billion profit in 2010.
The U.S. Senate on Sept. 29 confirmed Duane Woerth as U.S. representative to the International Civil Aviation Organization. Industry groups had urged the Senate to confirm Woerth in time for the ICAO general assembly, which began Sept. 28. The White House announced its intent to nominate Woerth on July 1. There has been no permanent U.S. representative for more than 18 months.
