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.
Air New Zealand last week revealed plans to slash headquarters staff by nearly 25%, the latest in a series of work force cuts reinforcing CEO Rob Fyfe's pledge that no "sacred cows" will be exempt from his campaign to streamline the carrier. Corporate staff will be reduced from 1,890 to 1,420 in the next year, Fyfe said. These cuts are in addition to plans to lay off more than 300 engineering personnel and 114 aircraft cleaners through outsourcing. Together, these layoffs will trim the airline's overall work force by about 8%.
Continental says it will return to its full flight schedule at New Orleans by May, and it claims it will be the first airline to restore all of its pre-Hurricane Katrina service. The airline currently has 99 weekly departures from New Orleans, including 77 to Houston, 14 to Newark and eight to Cleveland, providing about 20% of all seats in the market. By May, it plans to boost the weekly total to 111 flights.
A federal mediator will likely take over the contentious contract negotiations between FAA and its controllers, after the controllers union yesterday echoed FAA's earlier call for mediation.
