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.
AW&ST: What challenges have been presented by your fleet growth? Hockin: In a short space of time, Virgin Australia has gone from operating just Boeing 737s to also operating Embraer 190s, Airbus A330s and 777-300ERs. The challenge has been around having a far more varied fleet rather than just a larger fleet. What are your heavy maintenance arrangements in Australia?
The main goal of the past few years for Air New Zealand and Qantas has been turning around the losses in their international operations. Now, there are clear signs that their revival plans are succeeding. This is particularly true for Air New Zealand, whose long-haul unit has achieved its first half-year profit in five years. While Qantas is not quite that far along, it is undeniably heading in the right direction, with its international operation shrinking its loss dramatically in its latest earnings report.
The European Commission is focusing too heavily on chasing states for failing to comply with airspace redesign mandates, prominent air traffic management (ATM) officials say. Not only is it questionable whether the EC will prevail with sanctions, but expectations for the redesign initiative are unrealistic, according to the officials. Also, other programs and concepts have emerged that offer greater potential for ATM reform.
