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.
FAA has published a final rule covering aircraft parts certification, with the agency making significant changes to the draft rule due to industry pressure. The new rule updates certification regulations that in many cases date back to 1964. FAA said the rule changes will standardize requirements for quality control systems and part-marking and identification. It also updates export requirements to facilitate global acceptance and documentation.
Singapore Airlines managed to boost its load factor significantly in September, as its capacity cuts stayed ahead of traffic losses. Systemwide traffic dropped 7.9% for the month, compared to a 12.5% capacity decline. Load factor rose four points to 80.9%. The biggest boost came in the East Asia market, which saw loads rise 8.5 points to 76.3%. Loads increased 5.5 points on routes to the Americas, with European markets up by 0.6 points and Southwest Pacific loads falling by 0.4 points.
British Airways had to cancel one of its two daily flights from New York Kennedy to London City Airport after a birdstrike damaged an engine of one of its Airbus A318s on last week. The birdstrike occurred on approach to Kennedy Airport, and on arrival the aircraft was inspected and deemed able to fly. But as a precaution, the carrier canceled one of the daily flights on Wednesday, and again on Thursday.
