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.
Lufthansa’s flight attendants today are expected to reveal strike details after the airline has submitted a renewed proposal for an updated collective bargaining agreement. It is unclear if the attendants’ union, UFO, will launch an immediate strike or a more limited industrial action, but the airline is preparing for some form of disruption. “We have to be prepared that there will be turbulence,” says the airline’s executive board member for human resources, Stefan Lauer.
The UK’s Virgin Atlantic, which has focused on serving long-haul markets since its launch in 1984, next year plans to inaugurate domestic services with the launch of Airbus A319 flights between Manchester and London Heathrow. Virgin Atlantic hopes the move will be the first of several steps to develop a short-haul network from Heathrow, although the plan’s success is dependent on the airline obtaining many of the 12 slot pairs that International Airlines Group (IAG) must relinquish as part of its acquisition of BMI earlier this year.
