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.
Boeing boosted its net order total for this year to 407 aircraft, after adding no less than 88 new orders for the week through May 29. The late May surge in orders suddenly makes it look more possible for Boeing to reach 1,000 annual orders for the third year in a row. The new orders include 73 placed by unidentified customers, comprising 62 737s and 11 777s. In addition, S7 Group ordered 15 787s. Ryanair was identified as the customer for 27 737s previously attributed to an anonymous buyer. -AS
Latin America has seen healthy capacity growth in recent years, although this overall pattern has been erratic in South America due in large part to the financial travails of its carriers. Throughout the wider region, including the Caribbean, economic improvement will likely be necessary for long-term expansion. The Latin American regions together account for 8.5% of the world's population and South America is home to 5.8% of the global population, Central America for 2.3%, while the Caribbean has only 0.5%.
Gate Gourmet yesterday wrapped up a debt refinancing deal worth CHF850 million ($US694 million), which the company said will give it more flexibility in its acquisition plans. Proceeds from the refinancing -- syndicated by Goldman Sachs and Deutsche Bank -- will be used to repay existing debt and to "provide additional debt capacity for merger and acquisition" moves as well as general corporate purposes, the company said.
