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.
American Airlines’ plan to retire up to 85 aircraft this year could be a harbinger of an even larger wave of U.S. fleet cuts, with the carrier’s competitors likely to further slash their own capacity to cope with soaring fuel costs.
April Air Transport Association revenue data signal a worrying downward trend in U.S. passenger demand, Morgan Stanley analysts believe. Mainline domestic unit revenue was up by 2.9% in April, but the month-to-month decline was much higher than usual, Morgan Stanley says. Domestic revenue fell 11.2% from March to April, versus a 5.2% historical average drop.
Other major U.S. airlines are likely to make additional capacity cuts, following word yesterday from American announcing the largest capacity cut of any of the U.S. carriers for what is shaping up as a savage fourth quarter.
