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
MidAtlantic Pilots Sue Airlines, ALPA
Noted New York attorney Michael Haber has filed a $400 million class-action lawsuit on behalf of 230 MidAtlantic Airways pilots against ALPA, US Airways, A
Northwest Plans New Regional Unit
Northwest Airlines has presented its pilot union leaders with a plan to start a new subsidiary specifically to replace the airline’s aged Douglas DC-9s wit
Mesa looks to upset Hawaii’s
Jonathan Ornstein has heard assorted descriptions of his management style during his years in the regional airline business, but no one can accuse the Mesa
Mesa, US Airways To Sever Ties
US Airways will ask a bankruptcy court for permission to void its code-share contract with Mesa Air Group, leaving 23 Bombardier CRJ200s and 36 Embraer 145
Aircraft
GE Studying Engine for New Embraer 50-seater
General Electric has begun studies on a new engine for application on a proposed new 50-seat jet from Embraer.
Aircraft
Continental Keen on Saab 2000s
SkyWest Airlines parted ways with Continental Airlines earlier this year in large part because the Houston-based major airline wanted its regional partner
RAA chairman takes aim at bizav
American Eagle president and RAA chairman Peter Bowler posited a proposal to ease the airlines’ burden for funding FAA and ATC services: get business aviat
Aircraft
CFM, IAE bown out of C series
Amid the fanfare that came with securing commitments from the Canadian, Quebec and UK governments to contribute some $700 million to its proposed C Series,
At annual show regionals look back to the future
It seems hard to reconcile the rather dark and anxious tone of this year’s Regional Airline Association convention with double-digit margins and record rev
ATR does its part for Tsunami victims
ATR sent a pair of ATR 42-500s to Sri Lanka last month to deliver five tons of medicine, milk and clothing to tsunami victims.
Mesa enters Delta fold, puts 328Jet talks to rest
Delta Air Lines sent another clear message to its wholly owned affiliates that it won’t hesitate to outsource more regional jet flying to independent partn
Aircraft
Embraer’s Saudi Arabian sale opens the door to Middle East
Never a hotbed of activity for the West’s two regional jet makers, the Middle East market for RJs has long seemed as barren as the Arabian Peninsula’s Empt
Aircraft
Canada, UK winners in bid to build new C series
Bombardier signed a series of LOIs last month with the governments of Canada, Quebec and the UK for major manufacturing and assembly sites for its proposed
Aircraft
Q400 Sales Boost Turboprop Revival
Bombardier’s Q400 turboprop continues to steal the spotlight from the company’s regional jet offerings, most recently drawing a firm order for another four
Banner Year Continues for ATR
Avions de Transport Regional landed firm orders for 20 new airplanes from four customers at last month’s Paris Air Show.
Aircraft
Flurry of New Orders for Embraer
Embraer entered the Paris Air Show on a roll last month and exited with a flourish, signing orders for fourteen 118-seat 195s with Flybe and twenty 190s wi
Soft landing for US Airways and America West partners
Now that US Airways and America West Airlines have officially announced their intention to merge, the question of what will happen with the various regiona
Embraer lays down ‘Rule of 70 to 110’
How have the preparations for the JetBlue deliveries progressed?
The context is intense; there are several things going back and forth.
Aircraft
CommutAir Signs for 16 Q200s
Plattsburgh, N.Y.-based Continental Connection affiliate CommutAir signed a deal with Horizon Air last month to lease sixteen 37-seat Bombardier Q200s.
MHI Launches RJ Fund Drive
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries has decided to establish a special-purpose company dedicated to attracting the estimated $1 billion it needs to market a propos
Safety
FAA Orders Checks on 1900s
The FAA ordered operators of certain Beech 1900s to visually inspect their wing spars before they resume flying after the agency received reports of cracki
Aircraft
Frontier Snubs Horizon with Q400s
Frontier Airlines has chosen to establish its own regional subsidiary to fly Bombardier Q400s last month rather than recruit its regional code-share partne
Aircraft
C series gets its engine, launch delayed until fall
Pratt & Whitney Canada plans to build a brand-new engine for Bom-bardier’s C Series line of single-aisle airliners.
Industry fires back at ALPA
Try as they might, regional airlines just can’t seem to avoid the glare of public scrutiny.
Clearer skies ahead for Air Wisconsin
US Airways’ plans for new code-share partner Air Wisconsin finally crystallized last month, when the major airline loaded new schedules showing the Appleto
ExpressJet FAs Win Big Pay Raise
Houston’s ExpressJet reached a tentative four-year labor deal with representatives of its 1,200 flight attendants that, if ratified, promises a pay raise o
Aircraft
First Q300 for Air New Zealand
Air New Zealand took delivery of its first 50-seat Bombardier Q300 turboprop during a ceremony held last month in Toronto.
Aircraft
Republic Stockpiling Embraer 170s
Republic Airways last month offered another 7.75 million shares of common stock to help fund a fleet expansion that will see it field 28 Embraer 170s for U
GoJet Aims To Fly This Month
The DOT on July 15 issued Trans States Holdings’ GoJet unit tentative approval for a certificate of public convenience and necessity, bringing it a step cl
AvCraft’s Bartel released from jail
German authorities released AvCraft Aviation chairman Ben Bartel from a Munich jail last month, some two weeks after sending him there on suspicion of tax
