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

Struggling Caribbean regional airline Liat and fellow money-losing international carrier BWIA will form the basis of a new West Indian airline under a plan by four island governments to stem the tide of red ink that habitually covers their balance sheets. The plan calls for the governments of Barbados, Antigua, St. Vincent and Tobago to form a new holding company under which Liat and BWIA would still operate as separate entities, but share common government ownership. The governments hope to convince other airlines to join the consortium, although top regional competitor Caribbean Star has declined the invitation, as has Air Jamaica.
Based in Antigua, Liat for many years served as the quasi-official regional airline of the Eastern Caribbean, opening in 1956 with a single Piper Apache and evolving toward today’s fleet of de Havilland Dash 8-100s and -300s. However, competition from the likes of Caribbean Star, established by Texas billionaire Allen Stanford some two-and-a-half years ago, and a variety of smaller enterprises has driven yields to historic lows, prompting the region’s more concerned governments to grant Liat interest-free loans and bailout packages.

Regionals Update: Caribbean consolidation effort under way

Struggling Caribbean regional airline Liat and fellow money-losing international carrier BWIA will form the basis of a new West Indian airline under a plan

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