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.
The latest round of route announcements by Japan’s major airlines includes the notable return of a domestic trunk service that was previously squeezed out by competition from high-speed rail.
The Malaysia-based AirAsia Group has ruled out the possibility of investing in troubled Japanese domestic carrier Skymark Airlines. Speculation about AirAsia buying into Skymark had grown to such a degree that AirAsia felt compelled to issue a statement on Aug. 19 refuting it. “We dismiss the speculation as just another industry rumor and continue to focus our efforts on growing the businesses of all existing airline affiliates within our group,” AirAsia said.
Etihad’s introduction of Airbus A380s and Boeing 787s will mean major changes for its Australian network, as this will be among the early markets to see the carrier’s new aircraft types. The airline is on track to take delivery of its first A380 in December, and is due to receive four more in 2015. While the first few will be deployed to the Abu Dhabi-London route on Dec. 27 and March 1, one of the other 2015 deliveries will take over the Abu Dhabi-Sydney route in June.
