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.
American expects its first-quarter revenue growth to slow significantly in the first quarter, but the airline is still likely to reverse the loss it recorded for the same period last year.
Air China's net profit increased 11.7% to RMB2.7 billion (US$348.9 million) in 2006, and the airline expects more growth this year, based on the strength of the economy and the opportunity presented by the 2008 Olympics. Airline executives attributed the profit increase to the easing of oil prices during the second half of the year. However, operating costs still increased 22.5% to RMB42.4 billion. Fuel comprised 37% of total operating costs, up three points from last year. Operating revenue rose 17.4% to RMB44.9 billion.
The thousands of storm-related flight cancellations caused a significant drop in systemwide aircraft operations over the weekend, FAA reports. Friday -- usually one of the busiest days of the week -- saw operations down 10% nationwide, compared with last year. Traffic was down by more than 50% at many Northeast airports, with Philadelphia down almost 70% and Boston 56%. The large number of cancellations kept delays down to 664 on Friday and 380 on Saturday, although delays climbed to 1,148 on Sunday as traffic volume returned. -AS
