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.
FAA is seeking $7.1 million in civil penalties against American for improperly deferring maintenance, as well as other violations. FAA said American in December 2007 used the wrong provisions of its Minimum Equipment List to return two MD-83s to service after pilots reported problems. The aircraft were flown 58 times in violation of FAA rules.
Sensis Corp. has deployed its ASDE-X airport surface surveillance system at Detroit airport as part of a wider deployment, and is now working to install a multilateration-based system to aid simultaneous approaches to closely spaced parallel runways.
American yesterday boosted its 737-800 order for the second time this year, adding six more aircraft to its scheduled 2010 deliveries. While some other airlines have deferred deliveries in response to high fuel prices and a bleak industry outlook, American has opted to accelerate its fleet replacement schedule — although it is still slashing near-term capacity like the others. The carrier believes the 737-800 is 35% more fuel-efficient than the MD-80 on a seat-mile basis.
