He started his journalism career in 1992 as a freelance writer for Sueddeutsche Zeitung, Germany’s largest daily national newspaper and soon specialised in air transport. Jens joined Aviation Week and Aviation Daily in 2000 as one of the European correspondents. Later his role was expanded to cover international air transport. In 2013 he was named Managing Editor Commercial.
Jens frequently appears on radio and TV to comment on industry matters. In 2003, he received the Hugo Junkers Award of the German aviation press for his coverage of Fairchild Dornier’s bankruptcy. He was named the country’s top travel and air transport writer by the Travel Industry Club three times. Jens graduated from the Munich School of Journalism.
American Airlines and US Airways have won their first battle against the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), getting a tentative start date of Nov. 25 for the trial that would hear DOJ’s challenge against the carriers’ proposed merger. U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly granted the airlines’ desire for an expedited schedule, ruling that DOJ’s request for an early March 2014 start date was not reasonable. “March 3, I think, is too far off,” the judge said in a hearing on the issue. “It needs to be a tighter, expedited schedule.”
The UK Competition Commission ordered Ryanair to sell off nearly all of its 29.8% stake in Aer Lingus to address long-standing concerns about competition on routes between Ireland and the UK. The U.K. competition watchdog is taking two earlier European Commission rulings a step further. Where the EU has twice blocked hostile Ryanair bids for Aer Lingus, the competition body now says that even the existing minority stake is illegal. While Aer Lingus welcomed the UKCC final report, Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary said his company would launch an appeal.
Austrian Airlines and Swiss International Air Lines, both subsidiaries of Lufthansa Group, are being investigated by the Indian Aviation Ministry to see whether they comply with the “substantial ownership and effective control clause” that has historically formed the basis of bilateral air service agreements. Officials told the two airlines they might soon find themselves unable to continue services into India if the ministry decides that they are violating those terms.
