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.
Southwest and American both announced new details of their trials of on-board broadband Internet access for passengers. Southwest says it is partnering with Southern-California based Row 44 to “test satellite-delivered broadband…access on multiple aircraft.” Anyone with a wi-fi- enabled device will have full Internet access. The carrier says it intends to deliver the “highest bandwith available to commercial airlines in the U.S.” Alaska is one of the other U.S. carriers also working with Row 44.
Southwest CEO Gary Kelly yesterday admitted there is some risk that the airline could break its run of quarterly profits during the first quarter, although he stressed Southwest has plans to create enough revenue to offset rising costs.
U.S. airline shares followed the rest of the market downward yesterday, and despite action by the Federal Reserve to cut its funds rate by 0.75 points, major airline stocks still ended the day with significant losses. After a day of wide fluctuations, most carriers’ shares were down by at least 2%, some as much as 9%. By comparison, the Dow Jones Industrial Average finished the day down by just over 1%.
