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 new weekly 747 flight being added by Cathay at Dallas/Fort Worth will mark the first time in the airport’s history that it will see 50 weekly widebody cargo flights. DFW now has 39 weekly freighter flights to Asia, nine to Europe and two to Mexico. The airport has experienced 22% annual growth in Asian flights since 2002.
Alaska Airlines saw a healthy 2.7-point jump in load factor for November, but the year-to-date load factor was essentially flat. Traffic for the month rose 7.6% on a 4.5% capacity gain, lifting passenger load factor to 76.7%. Traffic for the first 11 months of the year rose 3.3%, just under the capacity increase of 3.9%. Load factor for this period was 76.3%, compared with 76.7% a year earlier.
Cathay Pacific yesterday revealed an order for eight Airbus A330-300 aircraft. The new A330s will be powered by Rolls Royce Trent 700 engines, and are scheduled for delivery before the end of 2012. The order will bring Cathay’s total A330-300 fleet to 56 aircraft. The airline has an existing fleet of 45 -300s, and three leased aircraft are due to be delivered in 2008. Cathay said the new aircraft will help bolster its regional and medium-haul routes. They will be deployed with both Cathay and Dragonair.
