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.
Airbus yesterday wrapped up a very productive Dubai Air Show, during which it announced nearly 300 new orders and commitments. The manufacturer received 163 firm orders from 10 customers, and commitments for 132 aircraft from three customers. The total list value of the firm orders is more than US$28 billion, and Airbus received its largest ever order in terms of list value from Emirates, with an 81-aircraft order. The show "confirmed that Airbus is very much back on the market," said Chief Operating Officer John Leahy.
British Airways yesterday admitted it has recently been operating some transatlantic flights without passengers, but said it is purely because of cabin crew scheduling problems rather than for commercial reasons. "On very rare occasions recently we have experienced a lack of availability of cabin crew for certain flights," BA said. Only 0.3% of its global schedule was affected this month. "This type of decision is not made lightly," BA noted.
Airbus announced another wave of orders from Middle East airlines on the second day of the Dubai Air Show, following the hundreds of orders and commitments already unveiled by Airbus and Boeing on the first day of the show. Yemenia signed a deal for 10 Airbus A350-800s, which the airline says is part of its long-haul fleet modernization effort. The Yemeni carrier already operates four A310s and two A330-200s in its long-haul fleet. It flies from Sanaa and Aden to cities in Europe, the Middle East and Asia, and intends to expand its network in Africa.
