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.
AirAsia completed its fuel hedging structure for the second half of 2006. Before it finalized the latest transaction, the carrier was only 50% hedged for the last six months of next year. The airline's hedge is based on the West Texas Intermediate benchmark (WTI), with a pricing band of US$48 to US$60 per barrel. If WTI exceeds $60 a barrel, AirAsia receives a $12 discount to the WTI market price.
FAA Administrator Marion Blakey yesterday committed to providing more help for India as it designs a satellite navigation system similar to the one the U.S. has introduced. FAA will "support India as it develops, certifies and implements" a satellite-based augmentation system known as GAGAN, Blakey said at an India Business Council event in Washington. FAA has worked with the India Space Research Organization, the Airports Authority of India and the Directorate General of Civil Aviation for the past five years as these agencies develop GAGAN.
Qantas is expected to decide within three or four months whether to restructure or outsource the carrier's maintenance and repair operations. Airline CEO Geoff Dixon said the carrier has "no realistic alternative than to make widespread changes to this part of the airline." Qantas told staff that its options for the MRO operations are to "restructure and relocate extensively within Australia," or "move significant parts of the business offshore."
