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

Norwegian Air Shuttle will gradually cut 85 percent of its flights and lay off 7,300 employees—or 90 percent of its workforce—as stagnating demand and government-enforced travel restrictions worldwide due to the Covid-19 crisis force dramatic measures across the industry.

 


"What our industry is now facing is unprecedented and critical as we are approaching a scenario where most of our airplanes will be temporarily grounded,” said Norwegian CEO Jacob Schram. “Several governments in Europe have already said they will do everything they can to ensure that their airlines can continue to fly when society returns to normalcy.

 


Norwegian, which on Thursday said it would ground 40 percent of its long-haul fleet and lay off half its workforce, said its main priority this week lay with maintaining as many scheduled flights as possible to ensure that customers can immediately return to their home destinations. The company said it would work closely with the authorities to arrange flights for the benefit of stranded passengers,&nbsp;if necessary.

 


“We understand that this extraordinary situation is stressful for our customers, but I want to assure everyone that we are working around the clock to ensure that everyone is taken care of in the best way possible at this time,” said Schram.

 


Norwegian’s layoffs include pilots, cabin crew, maintenance, and administrative staff. The company has already entered dialogues with union and Health and Safety Executive&nbsp;representatives at all its locations across the network given the differences in layoff procedures from country to country.

 


With the traffic cuts, as of March 21 the company will primarily fly a reduced schedule domestically in Norway and between the Nordic capitals and cancel all intercontinental flying except&nbsp;flights between Scandanavia and Thailand (last flights at end of March). It said it would operate “some” European flights and that a limited schedule will remain in place until at least April 17. However, it noted it will review that plan on a regular basis in line with changes in travel restrictions and demand.

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News and issues relating to the aerospace industry that are related to the science, engineering and business of flight in space involving civil, industrial and military applications, and similar topics related to flight in the atmosphere of the Earth that are not covered more directly by other AINonline subject channels. In other words, both astronautical and aeronautical subjects, except for those aeronautical topics that are specifically covered elsewhere on this website.

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News and developments about everything that goes into the cabin of an aircraft, from floor coverings to headliners, with a special emphasis on in-flight entertainment, communications and other electronics for passengers. If it is in the cabin of an aircraft, it’s covered here.

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