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

Australian helicopter operator Microflite is partnering with Eve Urban Air Mobility Solutions to work on plans for air taxi services in the country.&nbsp;The companies plan to start their alliance by using&nbsp;helicopters to kick-start services before the Embraer subsidiary's new Electrical Vertical Aircraft (EVA) is certified for commercial operations in 2026.
In a September 2 announcement, the companies said they will jointly&nbsp;develop new services and procedures for creating a safe and scalable operating environment for EVA operations together with communities and other industry stakeholders. Microflite, which operates a mixed fleet of 19 helicopters, has indicated a willingness to work with multiple electric aircraft manufacturers.
Microflite, which is based in Victoria state, has worked with Eve since 2019 by contributing to the concept of 0perations (Conops) developed jointly between Eve and Airservices Australia. That work laid the foundation for exploring new concepts to allow for the introduction of air taxis in Melbourne. ​​
“Australia needs a post-Covid lift and what better way to do that than by developing high-tech and low carbon jobs that support transport, tourism, and the vibrancy of this wonderful country,” said Microflite CEO Jonathan Booth. “Microflite will work closely with Eve and its partners to evaluate the best path to bring this innovative service to customers.”
The partnership with Microflite marks just the latest collaboration for Eve, which on August 30&nbsp;said it has started cooperating with commercial partners and government entities to develop a Conops for Urban Air Mobility (UAM) in Rio de Janeiro. In a statement, Eve said the project’s first test will happen by the end of the year in the Brazilian city, using conventional helicopters to simulate Eve’s planned four-passenger&nbsp;eVTOL aircraft, which the company expects to begin commercial service in 2026.
Just a week earlier, Eve announced it would provide rideshare booking platform Ascent with up to 100,000 flight hours in its planned four-passenger eVTOL aircraft, also beginning in&nbsp;2026. The Embraer subsidiary said that it intends to deploy up to around 100 copies&nbsp;of the EVA to unnamed operating partners in the Asia-Pacific region. It also has another similar partnership with rotorcraft operator Helisul Aviation in Brazil.
On August 30, Microflite announced a separate partnership with Melbourne-based ground infrastructure developer Skyportz. The companies said they plan to evaluate multiple new electric aircraft types and provide support to prospective air taxi operators looking to launch services in Australia.
Eve is already working with another ground infrastructure group called Skyports and several other partners on its plans to develop an ecosystem for advanced air mobility services.
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Gregory Polek

A new partnership could prepare the way for helicopter operator Mircroflite to include Eve's EVA eVTOL aircraft in its Australian fleet. (Image: Eve)

Microflite Teams With Eve to Advance eVTOL Air Taxi Services in Australia

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