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.
Consolidation in the German air transport market is gaining speed as Lufthansa and TUI negotiate a merger of their low-fare subsidiaries. Germanwings and TUIfly would form the second-biggest low-fare carrier in the country behind hybrid Air Berlin. The parent companies have been talking behind the scenes for some weeks and a deal is likely soon, once some open questions are resolved. The resulting carrier would remain under the Germanwings umbrella, say sources close to the talks.
Airbus this month plans to spell out what is necessary beyond the Power8 cost-cutting program for it to deal with the further decline in the dollar. Early signs are the next round of measures will be difficult, forcing cutbacks in areas previously viewed as sacrosanct. Airbus CEO Tom Enders signals that research and technology spending will have to be curtailed to generate needed near-term savings. Moreover, Airbus indicates it will be more selective in deciding development and product improvement investments.
