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.
Kuwait Airways plans to lease 12 Boeing 787s and seven Airbus A320s from Aviation Lease & Finance Corp. (Alafco). The decision marks the first phase of Kuwait's planned fleet renewal. In the second phase, the airline will place an additional order with Airbus or Boeing, Kuwait Airways Chairman Sheikh Talal Mubarak al-Ahmed al-Sabah said in an interview. Kuwait Airways has not made a profit since the 1991 Gulf War, in which it lost most of its fleet. It is competing with Jazeera Airways, a fast-growing, low-fare startup. -JF
Lufthansa Cargo is shifting its entire Cologne/ Bonn operations to Leipzig Airport at the end of October, a move related to the opening of DHL's base in Leipzig next year. A total of 21 weekly long-haul frequencies will be affected, including services operated jointly by DHL and Lufthansa Cargo. The airline uses a fleet of MD-11s for its dedicated freighter services. Both Cologne/Bonn and Leipzig have no night time curfew. -JF
Air Berlin is facing further legal charges, this time an alleged breach of ad hoc publicity requirements. German stock exchange supervisor BaFin launched an investigation into whether Air Berlin properly informed shareholders of its plans to buy DBA last year. The company is believed to have signed a letter of intent to buy the rival carrier four weeks before it turned the LOI into a firm contract and published an ad hoc statement. Air Berlin said it consulted legal advice at the time and was told that the deal was too uncertain to be published.
