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.
ICAO members have reached agreement on a set of environmental targets for the aviation sector, although it is setting higher fuel efficiency standards than industry proposed. After a high-level meeting in Montreal that finished Oct. 9, ICAO released a declaration of environmental goals for aviation — including a 2% annual improvement in fuel efficiency through 2020. This target is higher than the 1.5% proposed by the International Air Transport Association and other aviation industry groups.
Lawmakers last week reached a compromise on the Homeland Security appropriations bill for fiscal 2010, agreeing on total funding midway between the House and Senate recommendations.
The Air Line Pilots Association is reiterating its calling for a temporary ban on air shipments of lithium batteries, even though federal regulators do not believe such a step is necessary. ALPA President John Prater wrote to the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) on Aug. 20 asking for an immediate ban on the battery shipments due to their fire risk. In the three weeks since the letter was sent, there have been “at least three new incidents involving lithium batteries in air transportation,” Prater said.
