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 Berlin is expected to announce today that it is increasing its stake in Austrian low-fare airline Fly Niki. The airline confirmed yesterday that it is in “advanced negotiations” with the carrier, but that the plan is still subject to approval by its board of directors. The board meets today.
German pilot union Vereinigung Cockpit (VC) is expected today to publish the results of a strike ballot for Lufthansa pilots. Cockpit crews overwhelmingly voted in favor of the planned walk-out, which could come as early as this week, industry sources say. The dispute centers on Lufthansa’s outsourcing strategy and a long-standing disagreement over scope clauses limiting the use of large regional jets.
Dusseldorf-based charter and scheduled airline Blue Wings filed for bankruptcy as a result of a long-standing dispute between shareholders over funding. The airline was grounded in early January because it could no longer afford to uphold operations. However, it did not file for bankruptcy at the time, saying it was still looking for new investors. Those have still not been found.
