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

While today’s announcement of a firm order for six E190s from Venezuela’s Conviasa Airlines might have helped buoy Embraer’s general outlook, the deal hardly assuaged concerns among financial analysts over an airliner backlog that&nbsp;at the end of the second quarter&nbsp;had shrunk to a six-year low. On March 31 this year it stood at $14.7 billion, and over the course of the second quarter it dropped to&nbsp;200 airplanes worth&nbsp;$12.9 billion. At its peak, at the end of the third quarter of 2008, it had reached $21.6 billion.


The company nevertheless continues to hold its position on production rates. This year Embraer plans to build 110 E-Jets and, according to CEO Frederico Curado, won’t change that output in 2013 unless anticipated sales&nbsp;through the end of this year fail to&nbsp;materialize.


Speaking during the company’s second-quarter earnings call with investment analysts today, Curado acknowledged, however, that reaching its goal of a 1:1 book-to-bill ratio this year looks more “challenging” than it did three months ago. Still, he said he remains optimistic about the long-term prospects for its airliner business, despite recent economic “headwinds” that resulted in orders for just five E-Jets during the second quarter from China’s Hebei Airlines.


So far this year Embraer has sold 17 E-Jets and renegotiated a contract that resulted in the cancellation of five others. Its backlog of 200 airliners now accounts for less than two years of production at its current pace.

Embraer's Book-to-Bill Target Under Threat as Sales Slump

2024 Corporate Aviation Leadership Summit

AIN Products

SUBSCRIPTIONS

RESOURCES

ABOUT AIN