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.
Boeing last week revealed that Cargolux is the customer for two 747-400 freighters that had previously been listed under unidentified customer. The two freighters will be delivered in 2007 and 2008, and will bring the carrier's 747 freighter fleet to 16. The two aircraft are worth $450 million at list prices. Cargolux is also the launch customer for the 747-8 freighter, with 10 firm orders and 10 options. Deliveries of the 747-8s are scheduled to begin in 2009.
Nav Canada last week reached a tentative contract deal with its 850 flight services specialists. The four-year deal begins May 1 and expires April 30, 2010. Ratification voting is expected to be held in the next 30 days, and Nav Canada said it will not unveil details of the deal until after the vote.
The Airbus A380 flight program reached its 1,000th flight hour last week, and Airbus is nearly halfway through the planned flight test hours for the A380. So far, four A380 development aircraft have flown since the first flight on April 27, 2005. Eventually, five aircraft will complete about 2,500 flight hours before the first delivery.
