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.
Austrian Airlines shareholders approved the planned takeover by Lufthansa. Over 85% of them voted in favor of the offer, which pays them €4.90 per share. Lufthansa made its bid dependent on an approval rate of at least 75%.
Lufthansa Cargo selected Peter Gerber to become its new CFO and head of Human Resources. Gerber replaces Roland Busch, who recently was appointed to the same position at Lufthansa’s passenger airline. Gerber, 42, has been heading the team negotiating contracts with its various unions and is seen as a key figure for future positions in top management.
The Star Alliance is preparing a new corporate governance scheme that will prepare the group for a massive increase in members. The airline group has launched an “alliance of the 50s” initiative that is supposed to enable Star to increase the number of airline members from the current 21 to up to 50. The scheme is to be through the final stages of negotiations in June, and is understood to be presented in Kuala Lumpur on the sidelines of the IATA World Air Transport Summit.
