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

A study recently presented by Dutch researchers NACO/Royal HaskoningDHV and Royal NLR to the Netherlands’s House of Representatives concluded that the first nine-passenger electric aircraft could reach the short-haul AAM market by 2026, with the potential for larger 19-seaters to follow. The Netherlands has set a goal to fully electrify short-haul scheduled air services&nbsp;by 2050.
According to the study's authors, if policies remain unchanged, the share of global CO2 emissions from aviation could increase from 2 percent&nbsp;to more than 20 percent by 2050. 
Commissioned by the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management, the study is the first to give integrated attention to the aviation ecosystem of stakeholders and all technical, logistical, energy, and financial aspects that play a role in electric aviation. For example, the study examined the availability of the devices and batteries, the layout and logistics at the airports, charging technology, renewable-energy facilities, and costs.
Challenges related to aircraft include developing batteries, certifying aircraft, and scaling production to meet demand. On the ground, difficulties include adapting the infrastructure,&nbsp;as well as developing legislation and regulations. Despite the challenges, the researchers support the conclusion that electrically powered aircraft, with a capacity of up to 19 passengers on routes up to 200 km (124 miles), could fully assume the role of traditional aviation. 
The study used the flight schedule between Aruba, Bonaire, and Curaçao as an example of how to quantify the impact of the introduction of electric flying in terms of infrastructure, energy demand, and costs. The study provides insight into the investments and the operational costs involved in converting commercial air traffic between the three islands in three phases: first, to start small in 2026, and then reduce conventional air traffic (as measured in 2019) by 50 percent in 2030, and finally to go fully electric by 2035. With the knowledge gained from the study, the ministry believes&nbsp;it can map the possibilities in the Netherlands.

Gregory Polek

Dutch Researchers See First Nine-seat Electric Aircraft in Scheduled Service by 2026

2024 Corporate Aviation Leadership Summit

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