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.
While EADS and Airbus officials admit that A380 production problems could have a spillover effect on the A350, analysts say the A350 is too important to Airbus' future to be seriously under threat.
Boeing yesterday added 16 orders for the 747-8 freighter to its backlog, contributing to a third successive strong week for aircraft orders. Fourteen of the new 747-8 orders are attributed to unidentified customers, although most of these are believed to be orders Boeing has been negotiating with Emirates. The airline announced earlier this year that it intended to order 10 of the -8 freighters (DAILY, July 19). As well as the unidentified airline customers, Boeing added three 747-8s to its business jet order book.
Continental's September data show that the healthy revenue environment experienced in the past year may be softening, with the 2.9% yield increase the lowest since May 2005, according to a leading analyst. "We believe the more modest gains in load factor and yield are indications that the revenue momentum is slowing," said Michael Linen- berg of Merrill Lynch. This slowdown could be the result of "a more tepid economic backdrop, as well as heightened security procedures."
