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.
A U.S.-based law firm won a settlement potentially worth more than US$200 million from British Airways and Virgin in a class-action suit regarding collusion on fuel surcharges, and the law firm believes the deal breaks new ground for this type of suit. The settlement covers more than 8 million customers of the two carriers who bought tickets between Aug. 11 and March 23. It provides US$59 million for U.S. ticket buyers, and GBP73.5 million (US$144.2 million) for U.K. customers.
ATA Airlines reported a 7.1-percentage-point hike in load factor for January, lifting it to 77.8%. Capacity dropped 6.9%, while traffic gained 2.4%. Enplanements fell nearly 25%.
WestJet yesterday revealed strong fourth-quarter profit gains, and said its bullish capacity growth will continue at the same pace this year. The airline saw a full-year net income of C$192.8 million (US$193.4 million) — up 68% from 2006. The fourth-quarter net profit increase was even more impressive, rising to C$75.4 million, compared with C$26.7 million in 2006. CEO Sean Durfy stressed market share growth in the domestic, cross-border, Caribbean and Mexico markets.
