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

International Air Transport Association (IATA) director general Giovanni Bisignani characterized December’s decline in international air traffic as “shocking” during the British Air Transport Association’s annual dinner last night. Bisignani referred specifically to just-released figures showing a 22.6-percent decline in international cargo traffic compared with the same month in 2007. Meanwhile, passenger traffic fell 4.6 percent.
“Air cargo represents 35 percent of the value of goods traded internationally,” said Bisignani. “World trade is plummeting and the worst is yet to come. The only precedent is in the 1930s.” During September 2001, with much of the global fleet grounded, cargo traffic fell 13.9 percent.
Although, for the year, IATA statistics showed a 1.8-percent increase in passenger traffic and a comparatively modest 4-percent decline in cargo movement, airlines lost a total of some $5 billion last year and IATA expects them to lose another $2.5 billion this year.
“That does not fully describe the pain the industry is facing,” warned Bisignani. “We expect industry revenues to fall by 6.5 percent this year. That means that $35 billion in revenues will disappear. Worst hit will be Asia with losses of $1.1 billion.”
Of all the regions of the globe IATA examined, North America appears in the strongest position due in large part to its airlines’ relative failure to price hedge on fuel. That leaves North America’s airlines in a better position to take advantage of the recent fall in oil prices and, according to IATA, emerge as the only group of carriers likely to make a small profit this year.

IATA Director Expresses ‘Shock’ in December Traffic Figures

International Air Transport Association (IATA) director general Giovanni Bisignani characterized December’s decline in international air traffic as “shocki

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