Gregory Polek
Senior Editor
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 New Jersey Monthly 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 Aviation International News 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.
Latest from Gregory Polek
Airlines
American fined $23M for violating scope clause
A federal arbitrator has ordered American Airlines to pay the Allied Pilots Association $23.2 million for scope-clause violations related to its American C
ALPA answers NWA 70-seat proposal
The Air Line Pilots Association finally appears ready to play ball with Northwest Airlines as the Minneapolis-based company pushes for a new deal to allow
Aircraft
Czechs commit to new t-prop
The Czech government has pledged $13.5 million over three years to a consortium of 16 companies to build and market a nine- to 14-seat twin turboprop dubbe
Comair dips into Canada account
The Canadian Cabinet has approved a $250 million loan from the so-called Canada Account for a past transaction involving 10 Bombardier CRJs to Cincinnati-b
Airports
O’Hare restrictions suppress independence
Independence Air’s designs on developing a Midwestern outpost for new discount-fare flights could suffer a serious blow if regulators follow through with p
US Airways delays RJ deliveries
Bombardier has agreed to extend the delivery schedule of US Airways’ regional jets by a year and convert an order for twenty-three 50-seat CRJ200s to posit
Bombardier explores link with Aviacor
Bombardier acknowledged in late January that it has held “exploratory discussions” about collaboration in the turboprop market with Russian aircraft maker
ExpressJet boss scoffs at comparisons to Flyi
Houston-based ExpressJet joins some pretty rarefied company this month when it begins flying 44 Embraer ERJ 145s under its own colors in a point-to-point “
Accidents
CF34 Break-Up Prompts AD
The FAA issued an emergency AD last month to all owners and operators of GE CF34-3A1, -3B and -3B1 turbofans after investigators found an electrical arc-ou
Merger Foe Joins MAIR Board
Riley Investment Management principal John Ahn has won a seat on the board of Mesaba Airlines parent MAIR Holdings in exchange for abandoning his plans to
Comair, ALPA Reach Tentative Deal
Comair has given its pilots until March 4 to ratify a tentative deal forged with union representatives last month after U.S.
Aircraft
Colgan To Fly Q400s
Manassas, Va.-based Colgan Air will fly fifteen 74-seat Bombardier Q400 turboprops under a 10-year capacity purchase agreement that Colgan’s new owner, Mem
Aircraft
C Series launch target slides to 2013
Bombardier appears no closer to a decision about whether to launch or scrub the nascent C Series program after president and COO Pierre Beaudoin revealed o
Sikorsky has big plans for Schweizer subsidiary
Paul Schweizer seems to have taken well to his unfamiliar role as an employee.
Honeywell, Soloy boost AStar power
Honeywell dove back into the civil helicopter business here at Heli-Expo with a series of initiatives it hopes will land it squarely among the major player
Helinet’s Cineflex to play for Fox in today’s Super Bowl
Cineflex (Booth No.
Safety report questions pilot skill
Poor execution of autorotation landings, onto rough or too-soft terrain and into objects, accounted for a disproportionate number of injuries and deaths in
Honeywell vows return as major civil helo player
The new HTS900 turboshaft developed for the Bell 407X has not only thrust Honeywell into the spotlight here at Heli-Expo, it also has given the Phoenix-bas
Maintenance and Modifications
Embrear, Hawker pacific team on PAC RIM support
Embraer has signed a five-year distribution and logistics agreement with Sydney-based Hawker Pacific covering the supply of EMB-110 Bandeirante and EMB-120
Engines
Longer overhaul intervals for Beech 1900D engines
Raytheon Airline Aviation Services and Pratt & Whitney Canada have announced the availability of a 9,000-hour overhaul interval for the PT6A-67D engines in
Aircraft
Sukhoi, Boeing and Snecma officially launch RRJ program
The technical board composed of Sukhoi Civil Aircraft, Boeing and associate member Snecma officially launched the Russian Regional Jet program last month f
Embraer Signs First Customer for 175
Air Canada again added to Embraer’s backlog of 170/190-series jets last month with a firm order for 15 Embraer 175s.
Northwest Pilots Agree to New RJ Limits
Northwest Airlines pilots last month voted to allow Northwest Airlink partner Pinnacle Airlines to add more 50-seat regional jets to its fleet and open tal
Gregory PolekContented Pilots, Desperate Dispatchers at American Eagle
Pilots for American Eagle, represented by the Air Line Pilots Association, ratified a new collective bargaining agreement last month that grants them pay r
In Danger of Bankruptcy, FLYi Amends A319 Deal
Independence Air (FLYi) and Airbus have agreed to change the terms of a contract for 16 Airbus A319s to allow the troubled low-fare regional to delay deliv
United Plays Hardball with Air Wisconsin
United Airlines has asked for requests for proposal (RFP) from 10 regional airlines to fly up to 70 regional jets on routes now controlled by Appleton, Wis
Skies look brighter for t-prop market
The recent run of big orders for new turboprops has no doubt lifted the spirits of the two remaining builders of prop-driven airliners.
Pilots Picket Mesa Headquarters
Some 25 pilots of Mesa Air Group picketed the company’s headquarters in Phoenix last month to publicly air a series of grievances over work rules.
