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.
Israel’s international visitor traffic is hitting record levels this year, but the country’s major airline, El Al, is seeing its dominance in this booming market erode as its giant European and U.S. rivals increase their foothold. El Al Chairman Israel Borovich admits the airline’s market share at Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion International Airport has been dropping steadily for the last few years. However, Borovich says he is not overly worried about passenger share as long as El Al’s financial health keeps improving.
History and geography combine to give Israeli commercial airlines a set of operational challenges faced by few others. Carriers here have for many years been burdened with extra costs due to expensive security measures and overflight restrictions. Many neighboring Arab nations do not allow Israeli aircraft to cross their airspace, causing extensive re-routes, particularly for east-bound flights. For example, El Al must detour south around Saudi Arabia on its flights from Tel Aviv to Mumbai and Bangkok, an extension that adds up to 90 min.
Israelis are used to being told that their aviation system is world-class because it relies predominantly on veterans of its renowned air force. So the emergence of serious questions about air safety has come as a rude awakening, and politicians and the public are demanding action from regulators. While government officials agree a shake-up is needed in the agency overseeing aviation safety, they are divided over whether regulatory shortcomings have degraded the quality of the air traffic control system.
