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.
American last week reported slight growth in mainline load factor for January as traffic increases outpaced a modest capacity hike. Load factor grew 1.8 percentage points to 75.1%, traffic was up 4.4% and capacity rose 1.9%. Domestic loads were up 2.6 points to 75.8%, and traffic grew 3.5% on flat capacity. For international markets, loads rose by just 0.2 points to 73.7%, traffic grew 6.1%, and capacity rose 5.8%. Loads dropped in the Atlantic and Pacific markets, but rose in Latin America. -AS
British Airways last week reported its December quarter pretax profit climbed 8.6% to GBP164 million (US$289 million), with cost increases almost off-setting a healthy revenue gain. Revenue for the third fiscal quarter was up 8.8%, driven partly by higher premium traffic, while costs increased 7.3%. Passenger yield dropped 1.5%, load factor rose 1.3 percentage points to 74.1%, and traffic grew 5.8% on a 3.9% capacity increase.
The U.S. State Dept. is pressuring the U.K. to change the fuel rationing system it imposed at London Heathrow Airport since December, which U.S. officials say unfairly discriminates against non-U.K. airlines and adds millions of dollars to airline fuel costs. The rationing was introduced at Heathrow after an explosion and fire at a nearby fuel storage facility drastically cut the airport's fuel supplies (DAILY, Dec. 16). Airlines using Heathrow have had to carry extra fuel on inbound flights to reduce refueling demand, a practice known as tankering.
