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.
European flight numbers are forecast to grow 26% by 2012, and aviation policy makers need to prepare for changing growth patterns, Eurocontrol says. Average annual growth will be about 3.3% in the next seven years, with more than 11.4 million flights in 2012, Eurocontrol's latest medium-term forecast says. Growth will not be uniform across Europe, however, with Romania, Ukraine and Armenia expected to see expansion of more than 50% within seven years, and others, such as Switzerland and Norway, seeing 20% growth.
Spanish investment company Ferrovial has effectively neutralized a potential rival bidder for British airport operator BAA, with Ferrovial yesterday naming Australia's Macquarie as a "financial co-adviser" on the bid.
Finnair yesterday signed a contract with Airbus for nine A350-900 orders, to be delivered beginning in 2012, and also took options for four more A350s. The A350 order was first announced by Finnair late last year (DAILY, Dec. 8). The aircraft will be powered by Rolls-Royce Trent 1700 engines and will seat 314 passengers in a two-class configuration. This brings the A350's firm order and commitment total to 182 aircraft from 14 customers, including 100 firm orders.
