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

Airbus confirmed Friday that it has canceled an order for 50 A321neos from Qatar Airways amid an escalating dispute over surface degradation on some of Qatar’s A350s. The contract, which called for first deliveries in 2023, originally specified&nbsp;40 smaller A320neos and was renegotiated in 2017 to increase the number and size of airplanes to 50 A321neos.

 


Meanwhile, the High Court in London has scheduled a court case to start in April over Qatar’s A350 claims. The airline seeks $600 million in damages it claims to have incurred during the continued grounding of some 20 of the widebodies.

 


“We confirm we did terminate the contract for 50 A321s with Qatar Airways in accordance with our rights," said the company in a written statement. It would offer no further comment on the court case.

 


Following comments from Qatar Airways CEO Akbar Al Baker suggesting that the problem with the A350 affects other operators as well and that Airbus did not understand the underlying cause, the manufacturer in early December said it would seek “an independent legal assessment” to address what it characterized as an&nbsp;ongoing mischaracterization of surface degradation among the Qatari flag carrier’s A350 fleet. Qatar grounded the Airbus A350s ostensibly due to what it called an “accelerated” condition affecting the surface of the composite aircraft below the paint, as mandated by the Qatar Civil Aviation Authority (QCAA). As a result, the national airline reintroduced to temporary service five of its 10 grounded Airbus A380s due to what it called&nbsp;a capacity shortage caused by its grounding of A350s.

 


Airbus, however, insisted that it thoroughly assessed the surface paint-related findings and that the European Aviation Safety Agency confirmed it presented no airworthiness issue for&nbsp;the A350 fleet.

 


“The attempt by this customer to misrepresent this specific topic as an airworthiness issue represents a threat to the international protocols on safety matters,” said Airbus in a December 9 statement, without naming Qatar Airways directly.

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.

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