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.
Operational headaches at Sao Paulo’s Congonhas airport and the incorporation of VRG results both contributed to a fourth-quarter loss for GOL. GOL’s consolidated net loss was BRL24.2 million ($13.6 million) for the quarter, although excluding VRG’s results would have turned this around to a BRL90.2 million profit. In addition to the VRG effect, regulatory restrictions at Congonhas “required network adjustments that reduced load factors and increased ground times,” GOL said.
Airbus says its reduced transition training system will allow A320 family pilots to qualify to fly the A380 in just 13 working days. Reduced transition training — known as Cross Crew Qualification — has now been approved by EASA and FAA for pilots of all Airbus families. The latest approval, for transition from the A320 to the A380, was completed Feb. 7. The transition from A330/A340 families to the A380 will take 12 working days.
A U.S.-based law firm won a settlement potentially worth more than US$200 million from British Airways and Virgin in a class-action suit regarding collusion on fuel surcharges, and the law firm believes the deal breaks new ground for this type of suit. The settlement covers more than 8 million customers of the two carriers who bought tickets between Aug. 11 and March 23. It provides US$59 million for U.S. ticket buyers, and GBP73.5 million (US$144.2 million) for U.K. customers.
