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.
American, reporting strong profit growth and a positive outlook for passenger demand, is still having trouble keeping overall costs under control, and it sees a return to fuel cost increases in the fourth quarter.
American says its new Moscow service, announced yesterday, marks the first flight by a U.S. carrier between Chicago and Moscow, and it claims to be just the second U.S. carrier to fly nonstop to Moscow from any U.S. airport. The new flights are scheduled to begin June 2, 2008. This is also the first time American has launched a flight to Russia. According to American, Russia is the third-fastest growing tourist market after China and India. Russian visitors to the U.S. increased 15.6% in 2006, American says.
American reports that its passenger numbers at Miami Airport have increased every month this year, even after substantial growth in 2005 and 2006. September, in particular, was strong, the airline said. Capacity was up 5%, while enplanements rose 14.4%. For full-year 2006, enplanements were up 6.5%.
