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.
Nippon Cargo Airlines -- one of the launch customers for the Boeing 747-8 -- last week revealed it has boosted its order by another six aircraft. The order was placed last year, but until now has been attributed to an anonymous customer. NCA ordered eight -8s in November 2005. The carrier currently operates 12 747 freighters, and it ordered 10 -400Fs between 2004 and 2006, of which four have been delivered.
Continental last week subscribed to Sensis' Aerobahn system for use at its Newark hub, where the system is expected to help the carrier improve aircraft traffic flows during peak congestion hours. The airline already uses Aerobahn at its Houston hub, and Northwest uses it at both Detroit and Minneapolis-St. Paul. Aerobahn collects surveillance and flight data from a variety of sources and converts it into information that can be used for airport management. It will likely cut taxi-out times at Newark, Sensis says.
Boeing is converting two MD-11 passenger aircraft into freighters for Aeroflot-Cargo and wants to add more of these aircraft via leases. The conversion will extend the life of the aircraft, and will ensure flight-deck features and cargo-handling systems are consistent with the rest of the cargo fleet. Modification work will begin in November 2008, with Boeing Commercial Aviation Services doing the engineering design work. Singapore Technologies Aerospace subsidiary SASCO will also contribute.
