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 year-on-year decline in premium traffic continued to accelerate in December, with the Asia-Pacific market again particularly hard hit, according to the International Air Transport Association (IATA). Overall premium passenger numbers were down 13.3% in December, after an 11.5% decline in November. This follows the recent downward trend, and IATA warns that even larger decreases will be seen in the early part of 2009.
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) is today expected to release its global safety report for 2008, including accident and fatality numbers. The announcement will be made by IATA Director General Giovanni Bisignani at a Wings Club speech in New York. IATA will also provide an update on its Operational Safety Audit (IOSA). Any airline that has not passed the quality control process by March 31 will have its membership terminated.
Qantas intends to cut some major China routes and will switch its New Zealand domestic service to its Jetstar subsidiary as it, and its regional competitors, attempt to deal with the financial downturn. Qantas says it will cut its Sydney-Beijing service from April 17 and its Melbourne-Shanghai flights from March 31. In the Indian market, the Sydney-Mumbai route will now connect through Singapore from mid-May. Qantas Group CEO Alan Joyce noted the carrier “is not immune from the need to address under-performing routes.”
