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.
JetBlue on March 19 said it will make Orlando into its seventh “focus city,” and the carrier plans to create a crew base at the airport and consolidate its gates into one terminal. The airline said the higher status of Orlando within its network reflects the new Caribbean flights it has added there recently, with more to come when Bogota service begins later this year. By May 1, JetBlue will serve 18 destinations from Orlando.
US Airways may be looking beyond the Airbus A340 for an aircraft to fly its Philadelphia-Beijing route, scheduled for launch in 2009. The airline had been watching the tighter-than-expected A340 market for aircraft it could use on the route until it starts taking delivery of its A350s. However, US Airways is “a lot less interested” in the A340s with fuel prices continuing to climb, says President Scott Kirby. He said US Airways has “no comment yet” on what other aircraft it will use until the A350s arrive.
US Airways is joining other major carriers in making more fleet cuts to adjust to higher oil prices, although a senior airline executive stresses that relatively strong liquidity will help US Airways weather an economic slowdown.
