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.
International Airlines Group (IAG) has scrapped its profit forecast for the current year while it awaits shareholder approval for Airbus A350-1000 and Boeing 787 orders made earlier this quarter. The parent of Iberia, British Airways and soon Vueling Airlines, expects its shareholders to approve the investment no sooner than October.
Fastjet plans to launch domestic services in South Africa at the end of May, and has wet leased a Boeing 737-300 from Johannesburg-based Starcargo Airlines for six months while it gains approval to operate its own Airbus A319s in the country. The African low-cost start-up plans to launch operations between OR Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg and Cape Town International Airport through a joint venture, Fastjet Holdings, in which it holds a 25% stake. The joint venture’s majority owner is local investment firm Blockbuster.
Wolfgang Mayrhuber is starting his five-year term as Lufthansa chairman with a heavy burden of mistrust that could make restructuring efforts more difficult to achieve. The airline’s May 7 annual general assembly confirmed Mayrhuber’s nomination to the board of directors, but results of the shareholder’s vote were disconcerting. While all other board candidates received votes in excess of 85%—and in some cases, up to 98%—only 63% of Lufthansa’s investors voted for Mayrhuber.
