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.
While US Airways will not be taking part in the latest round of consolidation, it will still be in an improved position if other major carriers do complete a merger, according to CEO Doug Parker. “Just because one transaction may or may not happen” does not mean US Airways faces additional strategic headaches, Parker said at an April 28 media event in Tempe, Ariz. “If a couple of our competitors do get together, it makes our standalone [carrier] stronger” because consolidation will lift the entire industry.
Air New Zealand and Virgin Blue are confirming that they have been discussing an alliance on services between Australia and New Zealand for several months, although no agreement has yet been reached. The carriers will not give more details about the linkup, which Virgin Blue describes as commercial cooperation. Air NZ has long complained of surplus capacity in the trans-Tasman market, but regulators have previously stymied cooperation between Qantas and the New Zealand carrier in this market.
American Airlines has been forced to postpone the start of its new Chicago-Beijing route because the slots granted by Chinese authorities are at impractical times. The service was due to start April 26, but American has “tentatively” rescheduled it to begin May 4. The carrier says it hopes to receive more acceptable slots by then. However, while American is believed to have offered some flexibility, the Chinese have so far not budged on the slot times.
