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.
Iberia Express, the new lower-cost subsidiary of Iberia that initially is focusing largely on domestic routes, launched service Sunday with a fleet of four Airbus A320s, one more than originally planned. The fleet is expected to grow to 14 by the year-end, with all the aircraft to be sourced from Iberia. The plans have drawn fierce opposition from Spanish pilot union Sepla, a case that is now in mediation.
The European Cockpit Association (ECA) welcomed statements of Danish Transport Minister Henrik Dam Christensen ahead of a European Transport Council meeting last week. The pilot association believes Christensen’s endorsement of stricter flight time regulations are an important signal. Any new European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) regulation on flight duty times are to be based on medical and scientific evidence, pilots argue, and should put safety ahead of commercial interests.
EasyJet, bouyed by higher revenue and lower costs, is revising its guidance for the first half of 2012 and says it now expects a smaller loss than anticipated. For what usually is a money-losing period for the carrier, EasyJet is forecasting a pre-tax loss of £110-120 million ($175-191 million). The airline in January had forecast a loss of £140-160 million. EasyJet posted a £153 million pre-tax loss for the first half of last year.
