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

Australian Saab 340 operator Regional Express (Rex) has called on the federal government to halt Covid-19 relief payments to Qantas due to what Rex characterizes as anti-competitive behavior by the flag carrier. Rex on Tuesday received a High Capacity Air Operator’s Certificate (HCAOC) from Australia’s Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA), allowing it to launch Boeing 737 service starting in March. According to Rex, Qantas has begun flooding markets in an effort to weaken the regional airline ahead of its foray into narrowbody operations.

 


Rex points to Qantas’ launch of a route between Sydney and Orange, New South Wales, a market that saw pre-Covid traffic of some 65,000 passengers. According to Rex, Qantas managed to average about 10 passengers per flight on its two round trips per week since it launched service on the route on July 20.&nbsp;

 


“History has shown that once regional airlines are squeezed out, the loss is permanent and regional and rural communities suffer the consequences,” said Rex in a statement. “Qantas is choosing to incur huge losses on these routes, using Commonwealth government subsidies to finance a strategy that will destroy incumbent regional operators.”

 


Rex said it alerted the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) of its charges.

 


“We now call on the federal government to issue a second direction to the ACCC to provide it with more specific powers that will protect new entry and expansion, and that will bring greater competition to the domestic market at a time when the aviation industry is particularly vulnerable to aggressive behavior that entrenches the market power of the dominant carrier,” added Rex.

 


Rex plans to start flying a Boeing 737-800NG between Sydney and Melbourne on March 2021 with A$79 fares for the first 100,000 tickets sold. &nbsp;The airline has signed a lease deal on the six of the narrowbodies and plans to add four more by the end of next year.

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

Rex Calls on Government To Halt Covid Relief for Qantas

Planning to launch 737-800NG service between Sydney and Melbourne in March, Regional Express charges Qantas with an effort to flood regional markets.

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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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