Bradley Perrett covered China, Japan, South Korea and Australia. He is a Mandarin-speaking Australian.
Before joining Aviation Week in 2006 he was a macroeconomics, politics and aerospace journalist with Reuters. Perrett holds a bachelor’s degree in law from Macquarie University, Sydney. He left Aviation Week in 2020.
China forecasts its airlines will carry 11% more passengers this year than in 2008, implying faster growth than recorded in the past 12 months but still less than rates of about 15% earlier in the decade. The Civil Aviation Administration of China is also making new efforts to support carriers by dropping some airport fees and allowing new high-frequency services. And it is again urging them to defer aircraft scheduled for delivery this year.
The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) has added a second, similar incident to its investigation of the Oct. 7, 2008, uncommanded, nose-down pitch event involving a Qantas Airbus A330-300.
South Korea is moving ahead with its FA-50 light fighter project, signing a development contract with Korea Aerospace Industries on Dec. 26. The government has chosen the Israel Aerospace Industries’ EL/M-2032 radar for the FA-50 after the United States, exercising its right to prevent the aircraft from becoming an F-16 competitor, blocked the first choice, the Selex Vixen 500E.
