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.
FAA decided to take all three major bidding teams to the next round in its competition for a big satellite surveillance contract. The three teams are contending to provide an automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast system, which FAA regards as a crucial plank of its future ATC system. Late last week, FAA's Joint Resources Council approved funding for the second phase of this program, which will include nationwide deployment.
UPS last week set a timeline for deciding if it will go ahead with its order for 10 Airbus A380 freighters, agreeing to give Airbus a decision later this year. The announcement is good news in that its sole customer for the A380 freighter is still on board, but bad news in that a cancellation remains a possibility. UPS said its original A380 order was based on a detailed evaluation of its requirements, and these factors haven't changed. However, the company has been "evaluating various options" since Airbus revealed A380 production delays.
An expected rebound in oil prices is leading American to predict that mainline unit costs will drop slightly during this quarter but increase for the full year. Unit costs will likely be down 1.3% in the first quarter from the same period last year, and will rise 1.4% for 2007. These estimates are based on the December forward curve, which indicates a first-quarter fuel price of $1.83 a gallon for the quarter and $2.12 for the full year. -AS
