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

Bombardier delivered the <a href="http://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/aviation-international-news/2014-01-02/bombardier-squeezes-more-capacity-q400">first Q400 in a new extra-capacity seating configuration to Thailand’s Nok Air</a>, the companies announced in late August. The milestone 86-seat aircraft arrived in Bangkok under the terms of a purchase agreement signed in November last year for up to eight Q400s. The airline now holds firm orders for six of the big turboprops and retains purchase rights on another two. 
Bombardier claims the extra-capacity Q400 provides an operating seat cost advantage of as much as 17 percent compared with what it calls its closest competitor, the ATR 72-600. The Franco-Italian ATR carries 68 seats in standard configuration but high-density layouts allow for as many as 74. 
Bombardier managed to squeeze another six seats into its Q400 by offering an option to convert the airplane’s forward baggage door into a passenger exit and rearranging galley and wardrobe space. The new interior replaces cargo capacity with as much as another row and a half of passenger seats installed with a 29-inch pitch. The company also offers a 30-inch-pitch, 82-seat layout.

First Extra-Capacity Q400s Delivered

Thailand’s Nok Air took delivery of the aircraft as part of a deal signed last year for as many as eight of the aircraft.

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