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.
It appears increasingly unlikely that the Senate will pass its version of a revised FAA reauthorization bill this week, industry sources say. The Senate has still not reached agreement with the House on a couple of airport-related issues, and debate continues among senators as well. Even if the Senate does vote on the FAA bill, it is highly unlikely it would be acceptable to the House in its current form.
American Airlines cut its second-quarter loss dramatically compared with 2009, although it could still be the only one of the major U.S. legacy carriers to be in the red for the quarter. The carrier reported a net loss of $10.7 million, versus a loss of $390 million in the second quarter last year. American managed an operating profit of $196 million, its first quarterly operating profit in almost three years.
A survey of airline executives shows that confidence in the industry’s outlook continues to strengthen, according to the International Air Transport Association. The survey was conducted in July and shows that nearly 70% of respondents expect profitability at their airlines to improve in the next 12 months, with 26.9% expecting no change and just 3.8% predicting a deterioration in profitability. These numbers were all higher than in the last such survey, which is conducted quarterly.
