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

Calgary-based low-fare airline WestJet last month converted a <a href="http://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/aviation-international-news/2012-06-05/westjet-chooses-q400s">conditional order for 20 Bombardier Q400s</a> to firm status. In the process, it secured options on another 25 of the turboprops, potentially raising the value of the order to $1.59 billion based on list prices. 
Expected to launch a new regional airline in the second half of next year, WestJet continues to work on a six-year plan for regional service to and from various points across Canada. Its route network of more than 70 destinations now includes hubs in Calgary and Toronto, as well as so-called focus cities of Edmonton, Winnipeg and Vancouver. 
Bombardier announced on May 1 it had signed a letter of intent with WestJet covering up to 45 Q400s and on June 28 a conditional order. Negotiations began before Bombardier flew a 78-seat Q400 from Toronto to WestJet’s headquarters in Calgary in March to give the airline’s employees a first-hand look at the airplane.

WestJet Q400 Order Goes Firm

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