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 Senate yesterday approved the final version of the Homeland Security fiscal 2010 appropriations bill, which has now been sent to the White House for the President to sign. The House passed this measure last week, after a conference committee reconciled the House and Senate versions of the bill. The bill totals $42.8 billion in funding, versus the White House request of $43.1 billion and the $40.1 billion provided in fiscal 2009.
FAA has published a final rule covering aircraft parts certification, with the agency making significant changes to the draft rule due to industry pressure. The new rule updates certification regulations that in many cases date back to 1964. FAA said the rule changes will standardize requirements for quality control systems and part-marking and identification. It also updates export requirements to facilitate global acceptance and documentation.
Singapore Airlines managed to boost its load factor significantly in September, as its capacity cuts stayed ahead of traffic losses. Systemwide traffic dropped 7.9% for the month, compared to a 12.5% capacity decline. Load factor rose four points to 80.9%. The biggest boost came in the East Asia market, which saw loads rise 8.5 points to 76.3%. Loads increased 5.5 points on routes to the Americas, with European markets up by 0.6 points and Southwest Pacific loads falling by 0.4 points.
