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.
The U.S. Transportation Dept. is opening another comment period for the oneworld antitrust immunity application, which will likely delay a decision until at least late January. DOT said the new comment deadline of Jan. 11 is intended to give all interested parties the opportunity to respond to late submissions. The most notable of these is a statement of objections filed by the U.S. Justice Dept. on Monday that was highly critical of the application by American, British Airways and Iberia to form a joint venture for transatlantic services (DAILY, Dec. 22).
Malaysia Airlines has announced it will order 15 new Airbus A330-300s, with options for another 10. Airline executives said the aircraft will be delivered from 2011 to 2016. The deal is currently in the form on a memorandum of understanding. The carrier plans to fund the purchase through a share offering and borrowing.
Qantas says strengthening demand should result in a profit for the six months ending Dec. 31, and the carrier has also announced it will be reinstating a large number of previously suspended domestic flights. The airline predicts a profit in the range of A$50 million-$150 million (US$44.1 million-$132.3 million) before taxes for the first half of its 2009/2010 fiscal year. Qantas said operating conditions have improved versus the previous six-month period, with volume and yield rising.
