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

Iraqi national carrier Iraqi Airways has signed a firm order for five Bombardier CSeries CS300s and reserved options on another 11, Bombardier announced last month. The firm order came only two weeks after the parties announced a letter of intent at the Dubai Airshow. Bombardier places the value of the order at some $387 million based on list prices. If Iraqi Airways exercises all its options, the value would rise to $1.26 billion. 
Appearing in Dubai, Iraqi Airways CEO and director general Saad Al-Khafaji explained the airline would use the airplanes to serve secondary airports such as Basra and Najaf. “In Baghdad we use big aircraft, but in the other airports we’ll use aircraft that for us are normal size–150 seats or less,” he said.
The contract calls for Bombardier to configure the Iraqi CS300’s cabins with 12 first-class seats and 140 seats in economy, said Saad, and for deliveries to start in 2016. 
Iraqi Airways now operates six Bombardier CRJ900s, perhaps most notably on a route between Baghdad and Karachi, which Saad described as “a great success.” 
“Following the successful utilization of our six NextGen CRJ900s over the past few years, the acquisition of the CS300s will complement our network operations and allow us to expand into new markets,” said Saad. “The CS300’s range, fuel efficiency and comfortable cabin will permit us to respond to growing passenger demand and reach destinations across the Middle East, Northern Africa and Europe.”

Bombardier Seals CSeries Deal with Iraqi Airways

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