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.
Congressional sources say there will be no movement on FAA reauthorization legislation this year, and the first legislative proposals will likely be introduced on Capitol Hill next spring. Lawmakers are aiming to end this year's House and Senate sessions in early October, so they can focus on elections. This will likely preclude any reauthorization bills being offered. However, congressional sources told The DAILY that it is typical for FAA reauthorization bills to be introduced in the same year the previous ones expire -- which in this case is 2007.
Spanish investment group Ferrovial began its long-awaited bid for a hostile takeover of U.K. airport operator BAA on Friday, and BAA urged shareholders to reject the offer because it is still too low. Ferrovial is offering 810 pence per share for BAA stock, which values the company at GBP8.75 billion (US$15.2 billion). This is the same value as the offer presented to the BAA board -- and rejected -- last month, but Ferrovial noted that its offer is still much higher than the value of the shares before the takeover speculation began.
Germany's Bundestag on Friday passed a law that allows the government to sell a 75% stake in the nation's air traffic control service, DFS. The Air Navigation Services Act includes regulations for the capital privatization of DFS, with the German government retaining only a 25.1% share. Another significant feature of the legislation is the establishment of a separate oversight body, to be called the Federal Supervisory Authority for Air Navigation Services. This meets the requirements of Europe's Single Sky legislation.
