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

United Airlines and a group of more than a dozen other&nbsp;companies have committed to purchase&nbsp;some 3.4 million gallons of sustainable aviation fuel this year under United’s newly launched Eco-Skies Alliance&nbsp;program, the Chicago-based carrier said Tuesday. That volume of SAF would eliminate about 31,000 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions, or enough to fly passengers over 220 million miles, added United.

 


Inaugural participants, which represent a range of business sectors, include Siemens, Nike,&nbsp;Deloitte, and Takeda Pharmaceuticals.

 


"While we've partnered with companies for years to help them offset their flight emissions, we applaud those participating in the Eco-Skies Alliance for recognizing the need to go beyond carbon offsets and support SAF-powered flying, which will lead to more affordable supply and ultimately, lower emissions," said United CEO&nbsp;Scott Kirby. "This is just the beginning. Our goal is to add more companies to the Eco-Skies Alliance program, purchase more SAF, and work across industries to find other innovative paths towards decarbonization."

 


United said&nbsp;it has committed to the airline industry’s largest single investment in SAF, buying more of the fuel than any other airline. World Energy has agreed to supply the SAF to&nbsp;Los Angeles&nbsp;International Airport, making it readily accessible to United's operations.

 


The airline pointed&nbsp;to several initiatives as evidence of its overall&nbsp;commitment to completely cut greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, including its February agreement with Archer Aviation to accelerate the development of an electric air taxi vehicle.

 


Separately, United recently became the first U.S. airline to give customers the option to contribute funds for additional SAF purchases or for use on initiatives United deems helpful to the effort to decarbonize aviation.&nbsp;

 


Last year United became the first airline to commit to an investment in carbon capture and sequestration with a multimillion-dollar investment in 1PointFive, a joint venture by Oxy Low Carbon Ventures and Rusheen Capital that plans to build the first industrial-sized Direct Air Capture plant in the United States. The partners claim a single plant will capture and permanently sequester one million tonnes of CO2 each year, which equates to the work of 40 million trees.

News about commercial airlines, including regulations, aircraft orders, safety, acquisitions, and mergers.

United Airlines Launches SAF Purchasing Alliance

The Eco-Skies Alliance program aims to help create the economies of scale needed to make sustainable aviation fuel commercially viable.

2024 Corporate Aviation Leadership Summit

Hanneke Weitering

News and developments about airplanes, helicopters and unmanned air vehicles used in all varieties of operations, including airlines, military, business, commercial, general aviation and private.

News and issues regarding all manner of civil and military rotorcraft and their powerplants, including helicopters, tilt rotors and unmanned air vehicles.

Archer plans demo flight at 2025 World Expo in Osaka

JAL/Sumitomo Subsidiary Soracle To Operate Archer’s eVTOL in Japan

Charles Alcock

New developments at airports including regulations and noise issues; legal disputes; openings, acquisitions and mergers.

Britain's new government is under pressure to invest in public infrastructure

How Regional Air Mobility Could Boost the UK's Strained Transport Network

News about environmental issues relating to aircraft operations, including noise issues, emissisions, and regulations. See Fuel for biofuel.

Danish charter and scheduled operator could buy up to 15 of the electric seaplanes

Nordic Seaplanes Signs for Elfly's Noemi Electric Amphibious Aircraft

Odys' blown-wing design is being developed for both uncrewed freighter and piloted airliner roles

Fiji Airways Plans To Connect Pacific Islands with Laila VTOL

Scotland-based regional airline aims to achieve zero carbon emissions

Loganair and Heart Team To Decarbonize UK Domestic Flights

UK green start-up airline wants to operate domestic services with zero carbon emissions

Ecojet Plans To Operate Arc Aerosystems' Linx P9 Hybrid Helicopter

Cathy Buyck

News and issues relating to international air transport and cargo carriers, national airlines and regional airlines, including aircraft, engines, personnel, acquisitions, accidents, safety, security and training.

The Boeing electronic flight bag solution will support the low-cost carrier’s 737NG and Max fleet

Ryanair to Use Jeppesen FliteDeck Pro 5.0 EFB 

News and developments about aircraft engines, including turbofan, turboprop, turboshaft and piston.

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