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.
Regional cargo carrier Alpine expects an increase in revenue from new interim U.S. Postal Service rates that will stay in place until a new long-term USPS contract is signed. The Hawaiian Islands postal contract was recently re-bid by cargo carriers, but the process has been delayed because of a bid protest filed by a carrier on routes where Alpine doesn't fly. The protest has to be resolved before a new three-year contract can be awarded, but Alpine does expect to eventually receive the long-term contract.
Southwest's second quarter profits jumped 41% to $159 million, but some analysts are skeptical that the carrier can achieve the 15% profit growth it is targeting for next year. The 15% profit increase for 2006 "looks like a reasonable goal," CEO Gary Kelly said, dismissing analyst forecasts that profits may not grow at all next year. Higher profits could come from reversing load factor decreases while keeping yields high, he said, targeting Baltimore as one market where Southwest hopes to regain lost ground.
Eurocontrol's Upper Area Control Center in Maastricht handled 7.9% more flights in the first half of the year compared to last year. There were about 670,000 flights handled for the first half of the year. A new daily traffic record of 4,479 flights was set on July 1, representing a 5.8% increase from last year's busiest day, Sept. 10. Average en-route delays dropped sharply from 40.9 seconds to 6.1 seconds per flight.
