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 U.S. Transportation Dept. on July 20 issued its final approval of antitrust immunity for certain Oneworld alliance carriers, including a transatlantic joint venture among American Airlines, British Airways and Iberia. The final decision is essentially the same as DOT’s tentative decision issued in February. DOT requires that the carriers give up four London Heathrow Airport slots—two for Boston-London service and two for flights to any U.S. city.
House and Senate lawmakers are still hammering out the last remaining differences in their FAA reauthorization bills, with the window closing quickly on their goal of having a combined bill ready within the next few days for a Senate floor vote. Senate leaders have stressed that this week is the best prospect for getting floor time to pass the bill before the latest FAA authorization extension expires Aug. 1. House and Senate negotiators have been meeting regularly since last week to have an agreement ready, but some major issues are still to be resolved.
American Airlines and JetBlue Airways plan limited links between their frequent flyer programs later this year, as part of an interline agreement that becomes effective today. The carriers have not announced an exact target date for the frequent flyer cooperation. The timing will depend on issues, such as technology integration. Travelers will be able to earn frequent flyer miles under either airline’s program on routes covered by the interline agreement. Miles from one program cannot be redeemed on the other, however.
