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 Transport & General Workers Union (T&G) yesterday called off a two-day strike by British Airways cabin crew, after the two sides reached a deal on pay and work conditions. BA was able to reinstate almost its entire flight schedule after the strike was canceled. Late last week, the airline axed about 1,300 flights Tuesday and Wednesday and warned that it would not be able to reinstate all of these even if a last-minute agreement was reached.
Switzerland has made "significant progress" in improving aviation safety management since the Uberlingen mid-air accident in 2002, although there is "still need for further action in certain areas," according to an audit by Dutch aerospace research institute NLR. The Swiss government last year invited NLR to conduct the audit to assess progress on implementing a set of 28 safety recommendations made in 2003 -- also by NLR. The Safir project was established to implement the NLR recommendations.
Although British Airways cabin crew are expected to strike on Tuesday and Wednesday, the ripple effect will cause transatlantic cancellations throughout most of this week, the airline says. Most flights scheduled to arrive at London Heathrow from North America on Thursday will be canceled, although flights to North America will operate as planned. There will also be "a few selected" cancellations of North America-Heathrow flights on Friday due to crew or aircraft being out of position.
