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

Brazil’s Gol expects to resume flying the Boeing 737 Max on Wednesday, making it the first airline in the world to operate the model since its grounding by global aviation authorities in March 2019. Brazil’s largest domestic carrier on late Monday said the first flights would originate from its hub in Sao Paulo and that all seven of its Max 8s would gradually return to service by the end of this month. Brazil’s National Civil Aviation Agency (ANAC) issued approval for the Max to resume operations on November 25, a week after the FAA lifted its 20-month grounding of the narrowbody.

 


“Our first priority is always the safety of our customers,” said Gol vice president of operations Celso Ferrer. “Over the past 20 months, we have watched the most comprehensive safety review in the history of commercial aviation unfold, bringing together regulatory agencies and airlines from around the world to monitor and contribute to the upgrades in aircraft systems and pilot training.”

 


Gol conducted simulator training for 140 of its pilots at Boeing facilities in the U.S., meeting all the technical and operational requirements outlined in the plan approved by the FAA and ANAC, the airline said in a statement. The company also completed what it called a rigorous series of technical flights, which exceeded the requirements set by aviation regulatory agencies.

 


“These safety actions reinforced the meticulous work of removing the Max 8 aircraft from storage by the aviation engineers at GolAerotech, the company’s business unit specialized in maintenance, repairs, aircraft servicing and components, based in Confins near the city of Belo Horizonte in southeast Brazil,” said the airline. "The company’s experience and resources for maintaining Boeing aircraft…contributed to the ability to quickly and safely return the Max to its network.”

 


Gol operates a uniform fleet of 127 Boeing 737s and holds orders for 95 Max jets, scheduled to replace its 737NGs from 2022 to 2032. The airline said in May that it reached an agreement with Boeing to receive $412 million in compensation over several years for the model’s grounding. The agreement also included the cancellation of orders for 34 of the 129 airplanes originally agreed upon.

 


American Airlines plans to become the first U.S. carrier to return the Max to service on December 29 on a flight from Miami to New York LaGuardia Airport.

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.

Brazil's Gol To Become First To Resume Boeing Max Service 

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