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.
JAL is considering increasing its Boeing 777 and 787 orders as the carrier looks to reduce its reliance on its large -- and expensive -- 747 fleet. One of the airline's main goals is to replace 747s with smaller aircraft on many long-haul routes, said JAL CEO Haruka Nishimatsu in Tokyo yesterday. This process has already begun, and by boosting its 777 and 787 orders, JAL would ensure the move away from 747s continues.
Oneworld carriers are considering new ways to use the alliance to cut costs, including ambitious concepts like joint inventories for aircraft parts. The oneworld members combined have as much as $5 billion tied up in parts inventories at their maintenance facilities, said alliance Managing Partner John McCulloch. If the airlines agreed to common specifications for some parts, they could co-locate stockpiles in some parts of the world. This would reduce the inventory that each carrier would have to buy.
Canadian and U.K. ATC groups are moving ahead with plans to give airlines better access to preferred transatlantic routes, now that the U.K. has finished installing a new oceanic ATC system that mirrors Canadian technology.
