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.
AirTran yesterday announced it plans to enter the Detroit market with flights to three destinations, but dominant Detroit carrier Northwest said it does not expect substantial harm from the new low-fare competition.
ABX yesterday said it has bought a Boeing 767-200 from Delta, and ABX also signed a new engine maintenance deal with the carrier. The new 767 will enter revenue service with ABX by March 2006 after it is reconfigured for cargo, ABX said. The carrier already has 25 767s in its fleet of 115 aircraft, which are mainly used for ABX's major customer, DHL. ABX said it has "received a number of inquiries about our 767 airlift capability."
Delta saw its system load factor for July inch up by 0.8 percentage points to 84.1%, with traffic up 6.1% and capacity 5%. Domestic traffic increased 4.7% on a 3.1% capacity gain, and load factor rose 1.2 points to 83.7%. International traffic was up 10.8%, but an 11.9% capacity gain saw load factor drop 0.9 points to 85.2%. Enplanements were up by just 0.1%, and Delta's completion rate dropped by 2.5 points to 96.6%. -AS
