Gregory Polek
Senior Editor
Gregory Polek has spent his entire career in aviation journalism with AIN, starting as a proofreader and assistant to then-managing editor Mary Mahoney in 1995 after serving an internship with New Jersey Monthly magazine and completing his B.A. degree in English/Writing at New Jersey’s William Paterson College. By 1997 Polek accepted a position as an associate editor, covering the regional airline beat for Aviation International News in place of retiring industry veteran Don Anderson. The assignment took Polek across North America and Europe to profile regional airlines varying in size and mission from the likes of floatplane operators Kenmore Air and Chalk’s Ocean Airways to regional jet operators such as SkyWest and American Eagle. Today, in his dual role as Air Transport Editor and International Airshow Editor, Polek writes, edits, and manages AIN’s commercial aviation content while overseeing each of the company’s daily international air show publications in Paris, Farnborough, Singapore, and Dubai. Most recently Polek has assumed oversight of daily coverage of the Helicopter Association International’s annual Heli-Expo convention.
Latest from Gregory Polek
Aircraft
Mitsubishi To Delay MRJ First Flight
Mitsubishi Aircraft Corporation (MJET) announced today that it will delay first flight of the 92-seat MRJ90 by as much as six months, from late 2011 to the
Aircraft
Software Glitch Delays CRJ1000 Certification, Deliveries
Bombardier has moved the certification target for its 100-seat CRJ1000 to the first quarter of the company’s next fiscal year, starting February 1, from th
FAA Orders Change of ‘Certain’ A330/340 Pitot Probes
The FAA today issued an Airworthiness Directive (AD) on Airbus A330s and A340s that requires replacing certain Thales Avionics pitot probes with certain Go
Aircraft
Boeing Hangs GEnx-2B Engines on the 747-8 Freighter
Boeing mechanics last Friday completed the installation of the new General Electric GEnx-2B engines on the first
Aircraft
FAA Approves Plan for Southwest Airlines To Replace Unapproved Parts
The FAA today approved a plan that would require Southwest Airlines to replace unapproved parts installed on about 50 Boeing 737s–roughly 10 percent of its
Aircraft
BA Takes First LCY-Capable A318s
Airbus has delivered the first of two A318 aircraft equipped with “steep approach” capability to British Airways, the manufacturer announced today.
Boeing Commercial Airplanes CEO Scott Carson Announces Retirement in Major Realignment
Boeing Commercial Airplanes president and CEO Scott Carson announced today that he will retire from the company at the end of the year.
Aircraft
Boeing To Shave 3,500 Pounds from 747-8
Boeing has identified, approved and started the process of implementing a weight-reduction effort that will shave some 3,500 pounds from the 747-8, program
Aircraft
Boeing Sets New 787 Test, Production Schedule
As Boeing’s Randy Tinseth related in his August 24 blog, the company’s employees “continued to keep [thei
Accidents
ATR Crash in thailand kills captain
An ATR 72-212 operated by Thailand’s Bangkok Airways crashed into a disused ATC tower on August 4, killing the aircraft’s captain and injuring the copilot
Regionals turn in mixed Q2 results
While second-quarter traffic posted by some of the largest publicly traded regional airlines in the U.S.
Sleep Debt Led to Mesa Overflight
The Mesa Air Group CRJ200 pilots who fell asleep during a flight from Honolulu to Hilo on February 13 last year started work at 5:40 a.m.
EAS Program Likely To Get a Lift
The Essential Air Service (EAS) program could see a significant boost next year once FAA reauthorization makes its way through conference committee.
XJet Pax Forced To Do an Overnight
Forty-seven passengers aboard an ExpressJet Embraer ERJ 145 bound for Minneapolis from Houston spent six hours on the tarmac in Rochester, Minn., during th
Pinnacle Reaches Tentative Pilot Pact
After more than four years of contentious negotiation, Pinnacle Airlines has reached terms with the Air Line Pilots Association on a new tentative contract
Republic Seals Midwest, Frontier Deals
Republic Airways, on July 31, completed its acquisition of Midwest Airlines, then won a bid last month for Frontier Airlines after Southwest Airlines withd
Aircraft
Boeing Sets New 787 Schedule
Boeing announced today that it expects the first flight of the 787 Dreamliner to occur by the end of this year and first delivery in the fourth quarter of
Aircraft
Bombardier Readies C Series Fuselage Barrel for Testing
Bombardier next month plans to start more than a year of testing with the first aluminum-lithium test barrel for the C Series narrowbody that was delivered
Babbitt to pilots: read Colgan transcript
FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt urged an audience gathered for last month’s Air Line Pilots Association Air Safety Forum to read the CVR transcripts from C
Regulations and Government
Europe’s Pilots Call for Own Duty Time Overhaul
While praising the FAA’s establishment of an Aviation Rulemaking Committee in response to the crash of Colgan Air Flight 3407, the European Cockpit Associa
Safety
Bill would raise pilot hiring, training standards
Acting on calls for more stringent regulatory oversight of regional airlines after the February 12
Boeing Lands New 737 Order
Canadian airline WestJet has placed an order for 14 additional Boeing 737-700NGs, the manufacturer and airline each announced today.
CAE’s Brown To Retire
CAE on Wednesday announced that its president and CEO, Robert Brown, will retire on September 30.
Aircraft
Boeing Charleston Workers To Vote To Decertify IAM
Production and maintenance workers at the former Vought plant in North Charleston, S.C., won approval today from the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB)
Alteon To Become Boeing Training & Flight Services
Boeing announced today that it plans to change the name of its Alteon training organization to Boeing Training & Flight Services in a phased transition
Accidents
Airlines brace for fallout of Colgan crash
Something positive might come from the February 12 crash of a Colgan Air Bombardier Q400 after all, if a broad FAA effort to revamp rules governing airline
Rotorcraft
Airlines brace for fallout of Colgan crash
Something positive might come from the February 12 crash of a Colgan Air Bombardier Q400 after all, if a broad FAA effort to revamp rules governing airline
Aircraft
PC-12s to serve Arkansas EAS
The DOT has awarded Portland, Ore.-based SeaPort Airlines Essential Air Service subsidies for routes from Memphis to four Arkansas communities starting Oct
Republic reaches outward for growth opportunities
Republic Airways stands to become the 11th largest airline in the U.S.
Aircraft
Boeing Decides on 787 Fix, but Still Can’t Commit to Timetable
Boeing has identified a remedy to the 787 Dreamliner’s wing-to-side-of-body stress p
