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. and Cuba have reached a bilateral arrangement to establish scheduled air services between the two countries, the U.S. State Department announced Thursday. The sides struck the deal during the third round of technical talks on civil aviation held in Washington, D.C. on December 14, 15 and 16. &nbsp;Deputy assistant secretary of state for transportation affairs Thomas Engle led the U.S. interagency delegation, and Cuba's ambassador to the U.S. Yuri Gala Lopez led his country's&nbsp;delegation.

 


This arrangement will continue to allow charter operations and establish scheduled air service, which will, according to a State Department statement, “facilitate an increase in authorized travel, enhance traveler choices, and promote people-to-people links between the two&nbsp;countries.”

 


“While U.S. law continues to prohibit travel to Cuba for tourist activities, a stronger civil aviation relationship will facilitate growth in authorized travel between our two countries—a critical component of the President’s policy toward Cuba,” the statement&nbsp;said.
The agreement allows airlines from both countries to conclude commercial cooperation agreements such as code sharing and aircraft leasing agreements between them or with third countries’ airlines. The memorandum of understanding ratifies both countries’ commitment to protect civil aviation from acts of unlawful interference and reiterates the commitment to act according to the international conventions related to aviation security, said a Cuban embassy statement.

 


Immediately following the announcement, American Airlines said it planned to submit a U.S.-Cuba service proposal to the U.S. Department of Transportation in hopes of “timely approval” to introduce scheduled service as soon as possible next year.

 


&nbsp;“As the leading carrier to the Caribbean and the leading U.S. airline to Cuba, we look forward to establishing scheduled service to Cuba in 2016, from Miami and other American hubs,” said American Airlines CEO Doug Parker. “We appreciate the Administration's efforts and the hard work of the U.S. negotiators to reach this arrangement.”

 


American has operated charter service to Cuba since 1991, flying from Miami, Tampa and Los Angeles to the Cuban cities of Camaguey, Cienfuegos, Havana, Holguin and Santa Clara. The airline expects to operate some 1,200 charter flights to Cuba this year, amounting to a 9 percent increase over its capacity in 2014.

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