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 once again reported a slight seat reduction in February, with mainline capacity falling 3.2% and load factor gaining steadily. The capacity drop was accompanied by a 1.3% traffic decrease, leading to a load factor gain of 1.5 points to 76.5%. The largest capacity cut was -- as usual -- in domestic markets, which saw a 3.8% drop, compared with a 2.2% decrease in international capacity. Domestic traffic was down 2.6%, and international traffic was up by 1.2%.
British Airways says February traffic and load factor were down significantly, partly as a result of strikes that were canceled at the last minute. February traffic dropped 4.2% on a 0.9% capacity rise. Passenger load factor was down 3.7 points to 67.5%. Premium traffic was hit hardest, down 6.3% compared to a 3.8% decline in non-premium traffic.
British Airways says a proposed U.S./European Union aviation agreement will not hurt the airline as much as some financial analysts fear as it pushes for the U.K. government to take a hard line against the new agreement.
