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.
A recent uptick in global demand means airline losses in 2010 will be less than expected, and even 2009 losses are being revised downward, according to the International Air Transport Association. IATA has cut its 2010 net loss estimate to $2.8 billion in its latest industry forecast, down from the $5.6 billion deficit it was predicting in December. Last year’s loss is now projected to be $9.4 billion, versus the earlier estimate of $11 billion.
Harris Corp. and Norwegian-based Jotron AS are pursuing an FAA contract for advanced radios to support air/ground communications. They are competing for phase two of FAA’s next-generation communications (NEXCOM) project, and the contract is expected to be worth $200 million over five years. Meanwhile, Harris and Sunhillo Corp. have agreed to jointly develop advanced data information-exchange networks for ATC modernization in the U.S. and Europe.
U.S. and EU representatives plan to meet in Brussels in the week of March 22 for what they hope will be the decisive round of talks on a second-stage transatlantic Open Skies agreement. Negotiators “will really try to drive home a deal” during this eighth round of discussions, said John Byerly, U.S. State Dept. deputy assistant secretary for transportation affairs. There was also optimism that the last round, held in Madrid last month, would produce an agreement. This did not occur, but the two sides made progress on several fronts.
