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 White House has named Lynne Osmus as FAA acting administrator, effective Jan. 16, just a day after Osmus was named the agency’s acting deputy. Osmus takes over from current acting Administrator Robert Sturgell, who has tendered his resignation, as expected, in advance of the change in administration.
The U.S. Labor Dept. has ruled that American acted illegally by retaliating against two pilots who said they were too sick to fly. An investigation by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration found that the carrier “erred in rejecting medical documentation and illegally recouped sick pay already paid to the pilots.” American was directed to reimburse the pilots for sick time, interest and any other benefits associated with sick time.
Strong unit revenue growth in December indicates that demand is not dropping as fast as feared for Continental — and possibly for the rest of the U.S. majors — despite the wider economic downturn. Consolidated unit revenue was up between 3.5% and 4.5% year-on-year, with mainline up 4%-5%. The carrier also saw load factors rising in December, particularly for domestic operations, which is consistent with what its competitors are reporting. The general trend is that capacity cuts are more than offsetting falling demand.
