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.
Qantas this week begins the phaseout of its Boeing 747-300s from its Melbourne-Perth routes, replacing them with new Airbus A330-200s. Of the existing 48 weekly Perth flights, 13 will be operated with the A330s, and another 10 will be upgraded from 737-400s to 767-300s. The 747-300s will also be phased out from Sydney-Perth flights, beginning in September. They will also be replaced with A330-200s.
American plans to lay off up to 900 attendants from Aug. 31, part of wider job cuts the airline signaled earlier. The carrier said yesterday it has notified attendants, although the final total may change, and that it hopes to achieve much of its job cut target through attrition and voluntary options.
The airport at Lhasa, Tibet, is accepting night flights for the first time in its 43-year history, thanks to required navigation performance approaches and recently installed runway lights. The RNP approaches were created by Naverus and tested by Air China and China’s Civil Aviation Administration. Daytime RNP approaches have been used at Lhasa since 2005.
