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 passenger numbers were down 1.4% in July after strikes by ground workers and pilots severely disrupted operations. Also, its load factor was down by 1.3 percentage points to 82.2% as passengers booked away on other airlines. The strike among ground workers has ended in the meantime, but pilot work stoppages over a scope clause dispute continue to be a threat to the airline.
Jade Cargo International, China’s first international airline joint venture, is facing a financial crisis and its future is threatened by divergent shareholder interests. According to industry sources, minority shareholder Lufthansa Cargo was forced to transfer additional cash to the Shenzhen-based carrier to ensure that operational costs are covered this month and keep Jade in the air. It is understood that majority owner Shenzhen Airlines distanced itself from this move, offering no monetary support.
European carriers are assessing their fleet plans even as they optimize route networks to navigate through the morass of troubles gripping the air transport sector worldwide. While for many carriers the immediate focus is largely on parking aircraft to cut capacity, the more resilient airlines have other options.
