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.
Air New Zealand has finally reached a tentative contract agreement with its Airbus A320 flight attendants, although the deal must still be ratified. The contract covers flight attendants who are employed by Zeal 320, an ANZ subsidiary established to handle Airbus A320 flying, mainly on Australian routes. The attendants are represented by the Engineering, Printing & Manufacturing Union (EPMU). The agreement is being sent to EPMU members, and a ratification vote is expected to be finished by the end of next week.
Qantas plans to increase its Airbus A380 service on its routes from Sydney to Los Angeles and London beginning Sept. 7, after taking delivery of its latest A380 on Aug. 24. The new A380 — the airline’s fourth delivery — will boost A380 flights from three to five a week on the Sydney-Singapore-London route, and from three to four a week on the Sydney-Los Angeles route.
Continental is already tweaking its network in anticipation of its entry into the Star Alliance in October, adding regional service from two of its hubs to Washington Dulles. Beginning Nov. 1, Continental will offer three daily flights to Dulles from Houston Intercontinental, and two daily flights from Cleveland. The Houston flights will be operated by ExpressJet using Embraer ERJ-145s, and the Cleveland flights will use CommutAir Bombardier Q200s.
