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

Australian flag-carrier Qantas last month announced it would enlist its wholly owned regional subsidiary, QantasLink, for a large-scale expansion along the country’s eastern seaboard in response from stronger demand from regional points in New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland. QantasLink will start the expansion with its fleet of de Havilland Dash 8s on July 28, opening with 22 new daily flights each week between Newcastle and Melbourne.
The airline also plans to increase the use of its newest and largest turboprop–the 50-seat Dash 8-300–on peak-hour flights between Sydney and Tamworth, resulting in a capacity increase of 15 percent on that route.
Qantas has issued requests for proposals (RFPs) to both ATR and Bombardier for the possible replacement of 32 aging Dash 8s. All the recent activity appears to signal a newfound commitment from Qantas to its regional network, much to the dismay of competitors such as Saab 340 operator Regional Express, which has complained of favoritism toward Qantas on the part of government agencies.
Regional Express ended its service between Canberra and Melbourne on July 25 after a disappointing response from government travelers to its cheaper fares. Despite its intense marketing efforts, Regional Express managed to draw just 1 percent of the government bookings on the route. The trend has forced Regional Express to consider slashing its Canberra-Sidney route also. Qantas subsidiary Qantas Business Travel acts as the travel agent for most government departments.

Regionals Update: Qantas boosts regional presence

Australian flag-carrier Qantas last month announced it would enlist its wholly owned regional subsidiary, QantasLink, for a large-scale expansion along the

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