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.
IATA has welcomed the Spanish government’s intention to freeze rates at the nation’s air traffic control provider. IATA cited Spanish Minister of Transport Jose Blanco’s “commitment to address inefficiencies at AENA.” The rates freeze decision is a good start towards controlling costs at AENA, said IATA. However, the group also noted that much more needs to be done.
Increased use of U.S. military airspace over the Christmas-New Year period helped reduce flight delays compared to the same span in 2008, according to new data from FAA. More than 5,600 flights used military airspace that was opened to commercial flights, a 35 percent increase over the prior year. Christmas-New Year delays were down 34 percent, although reduced traffic volume also was a major factor.
FAA expects to release its proposed rule for flight and duty time sometime this spring, agency Administrator Randy Babbitt says. FAA had originally wanted to finish the notice of proposed rulemaking by the end of 2009, but the agency needed more time.
