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.
The FAA has awarded a team led by Lockheed Martin a major air traffic control contract to test and develop a time-based flow management (TBFM) capability. The initial contract is for five years, but if options are exercised, it could be worth $202 million over 10 years. Also on the Lockheed team are Metron Aviation and Sensis Corp.
American Airlines has been given slots that will enable it to launch its postponed Chicago-Beijing service on May 25, but it will not start daily service until July 3. The carrier was originally planning to begin flying this route on April 26, but the Beijing slots granted by Chinese authorities were at impractical times (DAILY, April 27). American then shelved the flights, and continued negotiating with the Chinese government for slot times it could live with.
The FAA has filled one of its remaining senior management vacancies, hiring Julie Oettinger from United Airlines to head the Office of Aviation Policy, International Affairs and Environment. Oettinger is expected to start June 7. Her areas of responsibility have been newly reunited, after international aviation was split from the policy and environment office during Administrator Marion Blakey’s tenure. Current Administrator Randy Babbitt told staff that he decided to combine the two roles again because he sees domestic and international policy as being closely linked.
