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

The U.S. Department of Justice, six state attorneys general and the District of Columbia filed a civil antitrust lawsuit on Tuesday challenging the <a href="http://ainonline.com/aviation-news/2012-04-20/us-airways-takes-first-step-toward-merger-american-airlines">proposed $11 billion merger between US Airways and American Airlines’ parent corporation, AMR</a>.&nbsp; The department said that the merger, which would result in the creation of the world’s largest airline, would substantially lessen competition for commercial air travel in local markets throughout the U.S. and result in passengers paying higher airfares and receiving less service.


The Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division, along with the attorneys general, filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia that seeks to prevent the companies from merging and to preserve the existing head-to-head competition between the firms that the transaction would eliminate.


“By challenging this merger, the Department of Justice is saying that the American people deserve better," said U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder in a statement.&nbsp; “This transaction would result in consumers paying the price—in higher airfares, higher fees and fewer choices. Today’s action proves our determination to fight for the best interests of consumers by ensuring robust competition in the marketplace.”


American and US Airways compete directly on more than a thousand routes where one or both offer connecting service and engage in head-to-head competition with nonstop service on routes worth about $2 billion in annual route-wide revenues, according to Justice Department estimates. Eliminating that direct competition would give the merged airline the incentive and ability to raise airfares, the department said in its complaint.


“The department sued to block this merger because it would eliminate competition between US Airways and American and put consumers at risk of higher prices and reduced service,” said Bill Baer, Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division. “If this merger goes forward, even a small increase in the price of airline tickets, checked bags or flight change fees would result in hundreds of millions of dollars of harm to American consumers. Both airlines have stated they can succeed on a standalone basis and consumers deserve the benefit of that continuing competitive dynamic.”


According to the department’s complaint, the merger would result in four airlines controlling more than 80 percent of the U.S. commercial air travel market. Meanwhile, the “new” American would control 69 percent of takeoff and landing slots at Washington Reagan National Airport, giving it a monopoly on 63 percent of the nonstop routes served out of the district’s most centrally located commercial gateway.


On August 6, the <a href="http://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/2013-08-06/european-regulators-clear-us-airways-amr-corp-merger">European Commission</a> approved the proposed merger.

U.S. Justice Department Moves to Block US Air-AMR Merger

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