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&nbsp;New Jersey Monthly&nbsp;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&nbsp;Aviation International News&nbsp;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.

Senior Editor

Gregory Polek

Tulsa, Okla.-based Great Plains Airlines became the second regional airline to seek federal loan guarantees under the Air Transportation Safety and System Stabilization Act. The struggling Fairchild Dornier 328JET operator joined Aloha Airlines, Frontier Airlines and Peachtree City, Ga.-based charter company World Airways in applying for the guarantees just ahead of the government’s July 1 deadline. In late May the Air Transportation Stabilization Board (ATSB) rejected the only other regional airline to apply for the guarantees–Fairbanks, Alaska-based Frontier Flying Service. 
Still flying scheduled service with its pair of 328JETs to five cities in the southern plains states under Ozark Air Lines’ operating certificate, Great Plains asked for a $61.5 million guarantee to help finance 10 new regional jets. It originally expressed interest in between six and 10 Fairchild airplanes, but the German manufacturer’s recent bankruptcy has thrown a veil of uncertainty over those plans. 
Of course, Great Plains’ qualifications or the guarantees remain far from certain as well. The ATSB rejected Frontier Flying Service’s application for a $7.2 million guarantee in part because the airline “did not provide a reasonable assurance” that it could repay the loan. The board also cited Frontier’s ability to secure insurance coverage “at reasonable rates.” The airline previously named lack of affordable insurance as a basis for its application.

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 

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