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
Mesaba-Big Sky deal raises red flags at ALPA
Big Sky Airlines will operate as a subsidiary of Mesaba Holdings by year-end if the Billings, Mont.-based Fairchild Metro III operator meets “certain labor
Newcomers look to trump Russian bid for Fairchild
As receivers of bankrupt regional jet manufacturer Fairchild Dornier awaited a takeover bid from a partnership led by Russian conglomerate Basic Element la
Pilots asked to take sides in Freedom Airlines fight
Mesa Air Group’s designs for a new non-union subsidiary to fly its planned fleet of 64- and 84-seat jets continues to face stiff resistance from the powers
Air Wisconsin-Air Tran deal brings more CRJs to Atlanta
Orlando, Fla.-based low-fare carrier AirTran Airways took a page from the book of North America’s full-service airlines last month when it enlisted Air Wis
Regionals Update: All Nippon to buy Q400s
Japan’s All Nippon Airways has placed an order for four 74-seat Bombardier Dash 8Q-400s, the first of which it plans to place into service next fall.
Regionals Update: Air Dolomiti signs with United, Flybe and Continental
European regional airlines strengthened their ties with their major airline counterparts from across the Atlantic last month, when Italy’s Air Dolomiti sig
Airports
Regionals Update: Toronto City Center to host new regional airline
As part of a plan to develop Toronto City Center Airport into a viable commercial hub, the Toronto Port Authority (TPA) has entered negotiations with a loc
Regionals Update: Piedmont, Allegheny pilots agree on US Airways restructuring
After months of heated debate over future regional jet jobs at US Airways, the pilots of wholly owned subsidiaries Piedmont and Allegheny Airlines ratified
Feared trend now a reality
US Airways’ June 27 announcement that it would replace Boeing 737-300s with de Havilland Dash 8s on its Charlotte to Asheville, N.C., route not only illust
Great Lakes Pleads Case to Nasdaq
Great Lakes Aviation has requested a hearing before a Nasdaq listing qualification panel to contest the planned delisting of its shares from the Nasdaq Sto
Aircraft
Embraer Lands New 170 Commitment
Brazil’s Embraer said it expects to complete negotiations on a firm order for six of its 70-seat 170 jets “in the coming weeks” with Italian flag carrier A
Air Canada Jazz Adopts Fee-per-departure Model
Air Canada signed a new agreement with its wholly owned regional subsidiary, Air Canada Jazz, to adopt what it calls a capacity purchase model to replace t
Augsburg Restructuring Costs 150 Workers, Dlugi Their Jobs
Lufthansa Airlines absorbed the sales, marketing and ticketing functions of Team Lufthansa partner Augsburg Airways last month, completing a restructuring
Great Plains Applies for Loan Guarantees
Tulsa, Okla.-based Great Plains Airlines became the second regional airline to seek federal loan guarantees under the Air Transportation Safety and System
Pilot gripes over scope put ALPA on defensive
A festering animosity between regional airline pilot groups and the Air Line Pilots Association showed no sign of subsiding last month, as nearly 300 Comai
Has ACARS’ time finally come for cost-conscious regionals?
Largely obscured by the preoccupation with new security directives inspired by September 11, the debate over the FAA’s now binding interpretation of a long
Senate Appropriates $128 million for EAS
Small communities and regional turboprop operations received what some consider unexpectedly generous support for the Essential Air Service program in late
Mesaba Battered by WorldCom Investment
The insidious and far-reaching effects of the WorldCom debacle hit home for Mesaba Airlines, as the Minneapolis-based Northwest Airlink partner watched its
Great Lakes Loses Nasdaq Listing
Nasdaq’s listing qualification panel removed Great Lakes Aviation from its SmallCap Market index on August 14 after denying the airline’s appeal for an exe
ASA, Mesa Pilots Caught Drunk on the Job
Pilots from two different regional airlines lost their jobs for alcohol-related offenses over the span of two weeks, further adding to an undercurrent of p
Swiss Authorities Ground 34 ERJ-145 Pilots
Switzerland’s Federal Office of Civil Aviation ordered 34 Swiss Air Lines pilots grounded after three of the airline’s flying instructors “failed to fulfil
Unfazed by local skeptics, Regional Express takes flight
While most startup airlines enjoy at least a short honeymoon with local press and industry pundits, Michael Jones spent some of his first moments on the jo
Cuts at American raise stakes of Eagle dispute
American Airlines’ decision last month to retire 74 more Fokker 100s and nine Boeing 767-300s will mean continued capacity stagnation at its wholly owned A
Aircraft
Dornier eyes cold comfort in Siberia
Insolvent German airframe builder Fairchild Dornier has turned to one of Russia’s most powerful oligarchs in an attempt to save the foundering 728 and 928
Embattled airlines strive to survive worst slump ever
Perhaps the sector of aviation most visibly affected by the events of September 11, the airline industry continues its struggle toward recovery, as securit
US Air bankruptcy puts onus on regional fleet
US Airways’ decision to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy last month officially placed the courts at the center of a restructuring exercise in which the devel
ExpressJet Rejects SkyWest Takeover
Houston-based regional airline ExpressJet said today that a committee composed of independent outside members of its board of directors has unanimously rej
Pilots yield on scope, as airlines struggle
The decision by US Airways and United Airlines to test the scope-clause language in their pilot contracts after September 11 appeared fully vindicated last
Republic, Frontier To Part Company
Frontier Airlines yesterday said it reached a “mutual agreement” with Republic Airways to end their code-share agreement and gradually remove all 12 of the
Fairchild Dornier teeters on the brink
As a district court in Weilheim, Germany, opened insolvency proceedings against Fairchild Dornier on July 1, the fate of the Bavarian regional jet builder
