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.
The hangover from a bad run of stormy winter weather is still affecting U.S. airlines, dampening what should have been a more emphatic return to first-quarter profitability for two of the major legacy carriers, and threatening full-year cost targets. American and Continental both eased back into the black for the first quarter, the first time either airline has managed this since 2000. In both cases the profit would undoubtedly have been larger if not for the series of storms in the first few months of the year.
London Heathrow's new tower is expected to open this weekend, and it will also debut a new ATC system supplied by Nav Canada. Heathrow is the latest U.K. airport to receive the Nav Canada extended computer display system (EXCDS), following Stansted, Gatwick and Luton towers. EXCDS eliminates the need for paper flight strips and improves tower coordination.
Continental managed to echo American's achievement in reaching a first-quarter profit despite harsh winter storms, although carrier executives warned of a tough pricing environment going forward. The airline reported a $22 million first-quarter net profit -- including special items -- compared to a loss of $66 million in the same period last year. This was Continental's first profitable first quarter since before the industry downturn that began in 2001. Operating profit rose to $64 million, up an impressive $53 million from last year.
