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.
Continental recorded a $266 million net loss for the fourth quarter and like other carriers is concerned about demand in the early part of this year. Airline President Jeff Smisek said leisure traffic – which has been stronger than premium demand – is starting to show some weakness. Peak leisure demand is still “holding up well,” but there is increased pressure in non-peak flights.
Global cargo traffic continued its dramatic fall in December, according to the International Air Transport Association. IATA reports that December cargo dropped 22.6%, while international passenger traffic was down 4.6%. Passenger capacity fell 1.5%, meaning passenger loads decreased 2.4 points to 73.8%. Full-year passenger traffic was up 1.6%, with capacity up 3.5%, resulting in load factor falling 1.4 points to 77.3%.
AIG is believed to have received the first round of bids for ILFC Corp., and is now in the early due diligence stage. Press reports cite large Middle Eastern sovereign wealth funds and major private equity groups from all over the globe as bidders. The timeline of the sale remains unclear.
