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

Delta Air Lines plans to base a new subsidiary in Minneapolis that would take over all customer service duties for Delta Connection unit Comair and Northwest Airlink carriers Mesaba and Compass Airlines by this year’s third quarter, according to an internal memo sent to employees from Delta Connection senior vice president Don Bornhorst. Called Regional Handling Services (RHS), the new unit will employ ticket and gate agents and baggage handling personnel in some 100 airports and perform “oversight” at 170 airports where other independently owned Delta Connection and Northwest Airlink carriers operate in an effort to encourage more service uniformity. All told, the move will involve 1,400 employees at the three regionals, although Delta hopes to effect any needed job cuts completely through attrition and voluntary retirement. 
“As there is minimal overlap of the Comair and Mesaba ground handling networks, we anticipate no voluntary frontline reductions,” Bornhorst wrote. 
Delta has chosen Comair vice president for system planning and customer service Don Stephens to lead the new division. Part of his mandate will involve pursuing customer service and ground handling contracts for other airlines. 
“New efficiencies created by RHS’s size, scope and combined buying and contracting power will contribute to the $2 billion in annual revenue and cost synergies expected from our merger with Northwest,” Bornhorst added. “Synergies will be driven from competitive contract bidding, optimized ground handling equipment utilization, streamlined training, reduced overhead expense and increased insourcing opportunities.”

Delta To Launch Consolidated Customer Service Unit for Regional Airlines 

Delta Air Lines plans to base a new subsidiary in Minneapolis that would take over all customer service duties for Delta Connection unit Comair and Northwe

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