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 congressional staff have started work on a compromise FAA reauthorization bill, it is becoming more likely that yet another short-term extension will be needed. Industry sources say House and Senate staffers are focusing on “the low-hanging fruit” to start the process of reconciling the two versions of the FAA bill. However, the lawmakers themselves will need to discuss the trickiest issues, and there is no sign of when — or how — the conference process will occur.
The continued strengthening of premium traffic indicates that the decline in business travel demand was cyclical and not a reflection of a permanent market shift, according to the International Air Transport Association.
Demand continues to strengthen dramatically for Singapore Airlines, with the carrier reporting double-digit load factor gains in March. Traffic for the month improved 13.9% year-on-year versus a 2.2% capacity cut. Passenger load factor jumped 11.4 percentage points to 80.8%. All regions demonstrated growth, with routes to the Americas, Europe and West Asia/Africa performing particularly well.
