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.
Emirates is indicating its report for the fiscal year ending March 31 — due in a few weeks — will feature dramatically improved profits. In the first six months of the fiscal year, profits rose 165% to $202 million, and the second half is expected to be even stronger. The airline’s profits were down 81% in FY2008-09. There has been “quite remarkable turnaround in the business” over the previous six months, in particular, says Andrew Parker, senior VP-international and industry affairs. Cargo began recovering in October, and passenger demand followed a few months later.
Having just completed a $4 billion modernization effort at Washington Dulles International Airport, the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority still faces $1 billion in capital spending over the next five years at its two Washington-area airports. A large part of this is funding in-line baggage screening systems, says MWAA Chief Operating Officer Margaret McKeough. This is an example of how airports face significant infrastructure spending even at a time when they are not looking to take on major projects, McKeough says.
WestJet, which has seen great success from a co-branded credit card through the Royal Bank of Canada, will “roll out some more segmented products to attract more business travelers” later this year, says John MacLeod, VP-revenue management & planning. The airline is sticking to the model that it is better for it to add value and charge more for extras than to cut services and offer bare-bones, low-fare service because of its higher fixed costs due to its tax base, says MacLoud.
