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, which hasn’t started flying yet, has been accepted as an affiliate member of the Oneworld alliance by the group’s board. Iberia Express is scheduled to launch operations on March 25, initially with four aircraft and with 13 by year-end. The route network will be focused on feeder services to mainline Iberia in Madrid, but there also will be regional point-to-point markets.
Air Berlin became the latest member to join the Oneworld alliance on Tuesday. Joining Oneworld is probably the most significant strategic change for Air Berlin in its history. The airline initially focused on the charter market, but later added seat-only sales. It became a major scheduled carrier mainly through the acquisition of DBA and LTU. But its ambitious growth has led to escalating losses since its 2006 initial public offering. Late last year, Etihad Airways bought a 29% stake in the airline providing more stability for the time being.
Lufthansa and Air Berlin disagree sharply on how to deal with fast-growing Persian Gulf carriers. Lufthansa CEO Christoph Franz Thursday demanded that German traffic rights held by Etihad, Emirates and Qatar Airways be cut back because their growth is not in Germany’s interest. Franz is worried about what he describes as the transfer of European hubs to places “close to the Iranian border.” German airlines operate 29 weekly frequencies to Gulf countries, while Gulf airlines have 129 flights per week.
