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.
British Airways yesterday confirmed that Shannon, Ireland, will be the refueling stop for its proposed London City Airport-New York Kennedy flights, expected to begin in fall 2009. Shannon was widely regarded as the leading contender for the fueling stop. BA plans to use Airbus A318s for the twice-daily flights, but because of runway restrictions will not be able to take off from London City with a full fuel load. This necessitates a 40- to 45-minute fuel stop before crossing the Atlantic, although the stop isn’t needed on the eastbound leg.
Acting FAA Administrator Robert Sturgell says New York Kennedy and Phoenix airports will be the next to receive the airport surveillance system known as ASDE-X this year. The system — manufactured by Sensis Corp. — was commissioned at Detroit airport last week, the 13th airport to receive ASDE-X. It will be installed at seven more airports by 2009, including Boston, Newark and Los Angeles. The 35 largest airports will all have ASDE-X by 2011 under FAA’s deployment plan.
US Airways will continue to push for increased ancillary revenues even if the current drop in the price of oil continues. The carrier, which has actively adopted the unbundled pricing model, says reversing this trend would undermine its long-term strategy to reach profitability. US Airways is currently investigating new ancillary revenue streams, including prepaying for checked luggage and advance bookings for its Choice Seat program.
