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

The scale of Boeing's liability to airlines for the 737 Max debacle became a little clearer Wednesday when Brazilian airline Gol said it has received 500 million reais ($86 million) out of 2.4 billion reais ($412 million) worth of compensation it has booked to collect from Boeing over several years for the grounding of the jet and subsequent order-book restructuring.

 


Gol, which had to ground all seven of the Max 8s it had taken since its first delivery on June 28, 2018, also cited non-delivery of 25 more of the airplanes in its claim of adverse effects on its operations, growth, and fleet renewal plan. Along with the cash compensation, Gol’s agreement with Boeing included the cancellation of orders for 34 airplanes, bringing its firm order total from 129 to 95.

 


The low-fare carrier, which had placed its first Max order—for 60 Max 8s—in 2012, added two follow-on orders that increased its total order count for the Max 8 to 99. It also placed an order for 30 Max 10s at the 2018 Farnborough Airshow.

 


In a monthly investors’ update issued Wednesday, Gol said it held more than 10 months worth of cash reserves “to shield and strengthen it” through the Covid-19 crisis. The company has grounded 120 airplanes, all Boeing 737NGs and Max 8s, or 92 percent of its entire fleet. Now operating the equivalent of&nbsp;7 percent of last year’s schedule, Gol said it expects that share to rise to 12 percent by the end of May, with the re-opening of bases at the Foz de Iguaçu, Navegantes,&nbsp;and Maringá airports, and the restart of a limited number of flights from Congonhas airport in São Paulo to Santos Dumont and Galeão airports in Rio de Janeiro.

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.

Brazil’s Gol To Get $412 Million In 737 Max Compensation

Following the grounding of seven Max 8s and non-delivery of another 25, Gol reached a deal with Boeing to cancel orders for 34 airplanes.

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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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