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 CEO Christoph Franz asked Frankfurt Airport not to open its new fourth runway at the end of this week in order to avoid a ban on night flights. Franz told Der Spiegel magazine that the curfew, which was imposed on airlines by a local court last week, was more than Lufthansa could accept. The airport, the airport association and the state government stressed that the runway will become operational as planned.
Airfreight may once again be serving its role as a leading indicator for the air transport business. If that proves accurate, increasingly dreary days are ahead for airlines. There is little doubt that the weak outlook for freight has taken a sharp turn for the worse. Pressure on yields has been building, and now they are declining. Air France-KLM reports unit revenue in cargo is down year-on-year and TNT Express had to adjust its outlook for the year.
China Southern plans to begin flying its Airbus A380s on international routes in the first quarter of next year after gaining experience with the 507-seat aircraft on domestic routes. The airline on Oct. 14 received the first of five A380s on order and will receive a second in December. President Si Xianmin says the airline will use the first two aircraft on domestic routes—among Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou—to build operational experience. It will then expand the route network overseas.
