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 favors re-engining the Airbus A320, CEO Wolfgang Mayrhuber told The DAILY. If such an aircraft became available five years or more earlier than an all-new jet, then the intermediate step would make sense, he added. Airbus is targeting a 2015 entry into service for its A320neo (new engine option) proposal, provided it goes ahead with the plan by the end of the year. An all-new aircraft would not come before 2025 at the earliest.
The German government plans to introduce a ticket tax for passengers taking off and arriving at German airports, starting next year. The tax is intended to add about €1 billion ($1.196 billion) annually to the federal budget in 2011-2014.
IATA Director General and CEO Giovanni Bisignani will retire in 2011. “I have decided on one more important and personal change,” he told delegates June 7 at the IATA Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Berlin. Bisignani has been at the helm of the International Air Transport Association since 2002, when he was elected at the Shanghai AGM. He has been one of the most outspoken executives in the industry demanding change from airlines and other constituents.
