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 Commercial Aircraft saw its backlog for Q400s grow last month by more than 25 percent with a single firm order from Poland’s Eurolot for eight of the high-speed turboprops, along with options on another 12. The deal not only helps rejuvenate the Q400’s recently growing, but still weak, backlog, but it also signals a shift in Eurolot’s loyalties from ATR, 14 of whose airplanes the Polish airline now operates. 
“We are embarking both on a fleet-renewal program and route expansion,” said Eurolot president and CEO Mariusz Dabrowski. “We require aircraft with excellent operational flexibility, which is absolutely essential in the competitive European environment. The Bombardier Q400 NextGen airliner promises to meet our high expectations.” 
Bombardier placed the value of the contract at $246 million, based on list prices. The value would rise to $625 million should Eurolot exercise all its options.

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