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.
Air France-KLM will disclose its plans for the future of Martinair at a staff meeting on Thursday. Group management is expected to tell employees that the airline will end passenger services and focus on its role as the concern’s cargo carrier. Martinair already operates 12 freighters (seven MD-11s, four Boeing 747-400ERFs and one 747-400BCF) and it has a further four Boeing 767-300ERs for charter services, mainly to Caribbean destinations. Air France-KLM said on Monday that one of the options was to transfer those services to KLM.
Lufthansa wants to significantly improve the profitability of its passenger airline division over the next few years. The unit’s CEO, Christoph Franz, told staff at an internal briefing that “our target is an operating margin of 8%.” At the peak of the last cycle, Lufthansa reached a 5.4% margin, and it posted a loss of more than €300 million in the first half of 2010.
Concerns are growing in Germany that adjustments in the size and scope of the country’s armed forces could threaten its defense industrial capabilities and jeopardize a multinational agreement on the A400M military transport.
