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.
Adrian Schofield (Istanbul), Robert Wall (Istanbul), Jens Flottau (Istanbul)
The airline industry’s latest financial nosedive is injecting new urgency into calls for broader liberalization of the global aviation market. Although prospects for regulatory breakthroughs are bleak, carriers believe that allowing cross-border mergers would spark the massive restructuring the industry needs to achieve long-term stability.
Jens Flottau (Istanbul), Adrian Schofield (Istanbul), Robert Wall (Istanbul)
The global airline industry expects further bankruptcies and fundamental structural changes as the sector scrambles to find business models for the new high-operating-cost environment. Industry leaders gave a bleak outlook for the coming months at last week’s International Air Transport Assn.’s annual general assembly in Istanbul. The association counts 24 airlines that have gone bankrupt this year, and industry officials gathered here warn the worst is yet to come.
Turkish Airlines aims to double in size over the next five years and seeks to establish Istanbul as a major gateway between Europe and Asia. The airline’s ambitious plans are based on geographic location—it is in the middle of a vast population pool within a 5-hr. flying distance—and a 70-million-strong home market where it faces no strong competitor on domestic routes. The government-backed private airline is also enjoying the benefits of lower labor rates in Turkey and significant expansion opportunities at the country’s main airports.
