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
Air Canada sales boost backlogs, but few spirits
At face value, the big orders from Air Canada in late September for Bombardier and Embraer jets augur well for the Western hemisphere’s last two regional j
Aircraft
XJet, Embraer Form Parts Partnership
ExpressJet became the first airline to join the new Embraer Collective Inventory Planning (ECIP) program, in an effort to better manage its spare parts inv
Aircraft
Mesa Answers US Air Distress Calls
Mesa Air Group has cut salaries among its senior management by 23 percent; the company will credit the proceeds to US Airways in support of the major airli
Aircraft
728 Creditors Weigh Liquidation
Creditors expect to start reviewing a status report due on November 2 from a court-appointed insolvency administrator for Fairchild Dornier’s 728 program d
Aircraft
More Cuts for Bombardier, Embraer
Both Bombardier and Embraer announced cuts in regional jet production that will see next year’s CRJ200 output fall by 25 percent and total Embraer RJ deliv
Accidents
Recent accidents strike a blow for regional airlines
Just when it looked as if the image of the regional airline industry escaped relatively unscathed from last year’s spate of accidents, the crash of two mor
Engines
Engine Alliance-powered A380 wins EASA/FAA certification
The Airbus A380 powered by Engine Alliance GP7200 engines received joint European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and FAA type certification last Friday.
Embraer positioned well in 10-year regional market
A new report released by Forecast International says that Embraer will collect 40.8 percent of the projected $99.7 billion in sales of regional aircraft ov
Aircraft
ATR Scores Big in India
ATR landed its biggest sale in recent memory last month when Indian budget airline Air Deccan agreed to take delivery of 30 new 72-seat ATR 72-500s over th
Aircraft
Governments set to show C Series the money
Perhaps the most vital component in Bombardier’s C Series of single-aisle commercial jets will consist not of metal, pneumatics or electrical circuits, but
Aircraft
More avionics woes prompt 170 Ads
Cases of complete failure of the Honeywell Primus Epic avionics display triggered an emergency AD from the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) for all E
Aircraft
Embraer’s ‘E-Jets’ halfway home
No one said it would be easy, but Embraer seems to have hit its stride after struggling early on to meet development and certification targets for its new
Swiss to Slash Regional Fleet–Again
Swiss International Air Lines last month announced another restructuring program that will shrink its regional fleet by at least 13 aircraft and its staffi
Independence Cuts Fat
Desperate to cut RJ capacity as system-wide load factors hover around 50 percent, Independence Air managed to convince GECAS to cancel its leases on 10 Bom
GoJet to Land in St. Louis August 1
A new division of Hulas Kanodia’s Trans States Holdings will start flying scheduled service on August 1 with the first of up to 30 Bombardier CRJ700s, acco
Comair’s Rademacher Quits Post
Comair president Randy Rademacher has left the company “to pursue other opportunities,” just weeks after DOT Inspector General Kenneth Mead launched an inv
US Airways to take Embraer 190s
US Airways plans to start taking deliveries of Embraer jets again this November under a new agreement to convert its remaining positions on 57 Embraer 170s
Bombardier turns its focus to 90/100-seater
It took a while for the message to register, but Bombardier finally heeded the airline market’s counsel in late January and shelved its languishing C Serie
Mesaba Moves To Void Contracts
Bankrupt Mesaba Airlines has asked a bankruptcy court judge to void contracts with its three labor unions after employees refused to agree to a 19.4-percen
Flurry of Orders for Bombardier
Last month’s Regco order for 10 Q400s accompanied a flurry of minor transactions for Bombardier since AIN’s February issue went to press,
Regco Rises from the Ashes
Regco Holdings CEO Robert Deluce last month announced his intention to proceed with plans to base a new regional airline at Toronto Island Airport this yea
LZ claims to be unfazed by Moravan bankruptcy
After announcing plans to lay off up to 350 employees starting March 1, Moravan Aeroplanes’ LZ Aeronautical Industries division continues to champion the l
Aircraft
Mesa takes first CRJ900
Bombardier last month delivered the first production example of its newest regional jet, the CRJ900, to Phoenix-based Mesa Air Group.
Continental defers Embraer deliveries
Continental Airlines and Brazil’s Embraer last month agreed to defer deliveries on 60 fifty-seat ERJ-145XRs jets by as much as two years, sending stock pri
Air Canada threatens sale of Jazz
Air Canada last month suggested the potential sale of Air Canada Jazz, just as executives prepared to meet with key unions to discuss cost cuts at its mone
Chautauqua breaks with America West; expands Delta deal
America West’s decision to close its hub in Columbus, Ohio, has forced it to sever its relationship with code-share partner Chautauqua Airlines.
ExpressJet pilots to staff new CommutAir base
CommutAir’s flight operations department accelerated preparations last month for a major expansion scheduled to start March 16 in Cleveland, where the Plat
From the inside out, ASA helps build Delta's future
As Atlantic Southeast Airlines president Skip Barnette maintains, few established companies emerge from a five-year, 25-percent annual growth plan untouche
