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

International Air Transport Association (IATA) director general Willie Walsh on Tuesday called on governments to intervene against&nbsp;the alleged practice of price gouging by Covid testing entities. Speaking during the latest in a series of IATA briefings on the effects of the crisis on the airline industry, Walsh decried what he characterized as the emergence of a cottage industry led by companies that have taken advantage of the virus crisis by charging as much as $400 for tests he said should cost no more than $15.

 


An IATA study into the costs of PCR testing from a sampling of 16 markets showed an average minimum cost of $90 per test and an average maximum cost of $280.

 


“We’ve seen an incredible variation,” noted Walsh. “Clearly this is unjustifiable. We’ve talked about evidence of profiteering. Credit to France, because France has implemented the [World Health Organization] recommendation that the cost of testing should be borne by the country.”

 


IATA’s research showed that, before the pandemic, the average one-way airline ticket with taxes and fees cost $200, meaning a $90 PCR test raises the cost by 45 percent. Add another test on arrival and the one-way cost would leap by 90 percent, to $380. Assuming the need for two tests in each direction, the average cost for an individual return trip could balloon from $400 to $760, according to IATA.&nbsp;

 


“The real risk here is that these prohibitive costs will prevent people from exercising&nbsp;their freedom to travel, to visit friends, to take a holiday,” said Walsh. “As a society, we cannot allow a situation to develop where only the rich can afford to travel again.

 


“We also need to highlight the fact that governments continue to mandate these tests but are taking their big slice of the pie through VAT charges. There’s no evidence other than to demonstrate that people are being gouged.”

 


Walsh referenced specifically the UK, where he said he had to buy PCR testing for a recent trip there. A number of new companies that administer tests and send the swabs to a lab, he said, have emerged as a result of the opportunity to profit from the pandemic in recent months. “If you look at the UK government website, you can see that many of these identifying that they’re working with the same lab,” he noted. “So I think what we’ve got to do is understand how these companies come about, who’s behind them, why are they charging such exorbitant prices given that we know in many cases they’re offering discounts of up to 50 percent. If they can offer a discount of up to 50 percent to some people, why can’t they reduce the prices by 50 percent to all people?” &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

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

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News and issues relating to international air transport and cargo carriers, national airlines and regional airlines, including aircraft, engines, personnel, acquisitions, accidents, safety, security and training.

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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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