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 ATC union that was almost destroyed during the Reagan Administration has reached a tentative contract deal on behalf of controllers working at four contract towers. The Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization (PATCO) achieved an agreement with Midwest ATC Service for controllers at Gary, Ind.; Oxford, Conn.; Trenton, N.J.; and Waukesha, Wis. The deal is still subject to ratification by employees at the respective facilities.
Delta has unveiled a plan to cut capacity by another 5%, find another $550 million in productivity and shed up to 2,000 jobs to help mitigate high oil prices. Having built its strategy last year on an oil price of $90 per barrel, the Delta now needs to “recalibrate,” said CFO Ed Bastian in remarks at the JP Morgan Aviation & Transportation conference March 18. Fuel will be $2.2 billion higher this year — Delta had already announced fuel would increase by $1.3 billion, and now it is adding another $900 million to its guidance.
Five more European states have begun enforcing a European Commission requirement covering radio equipage in upper airspace, meaning all states now comply. As of March 13, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Malta, Portugal and Spain have been enforcing the mandatory carriage of 8.33kHz radio equipment above Flight Level 195, Eurocontrol says. This brings them into line with EC Regulation 1265/2007, which is aimed at alleviating “the current difficulties in obtaining VHF assignments in the aeronautical communications VHF band from 118-137 MHz,” said Eurocontrol. -
