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.
Robert Wall (Geneva), Jens Flottau (Geneva), Adrian Schofield (Geneva)
The International Air Transport Assn. is preparing initiatives to achieve a further jump in the level of aviation safety, both in the air and on the ground. For instance, carriers will be pressured to upgrade aircraft with enhanced ground proximity warning systems (EGPWS) and phase out airliners that can’t handle the equipment.
Lufthansa saw its traffic rise by 0.7% in November, but that was mainly due to strong performance by its subsidiary Swiss International Air Lines. The group without Swiss saw demand fall by 1.2% on 2.1% more capacity. Swiss, in sharp contrast, grew by 9.8% on 10.4% more seats offered. The groupwide load factor fell by 2.2 points to 76%. Cargo demand dropped by 6.7%.
German regional airline Eurowings is selling its low-fare unit Germanwings to its own parent company Lufthansa. The decision was approved by Eurowings’ board of directors yesterday. The airline stated that it will in the future focus on its role as a regional carrier. Germanwings will be integrated under the umbrella of Lufthansa’s commercial holding. The two sides did not disclose financial details of the transaction. Lufthansa will also take a majority stake in Eurowings, likely before the end of the year.
