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.
Munich Airport took a major step toward the construction of a third runway at the airport as it submitted planning documentation to regional authorities. The runway would raise hourly capacity to 120 movements from about 80 today and would help the airport continue its rapid expansion. The timing of the runway opening is still uncertain, as a flood of lawsuits is expected that could delay construction. Munich is Lufthansa's second-largest hub behind Frankfurt. -JF
Ryanair yesterday gave a cautious outlook for its fiscal year 2007 despite recording strong results in its first quarter. The airline said that it expects a 5%-10% increase in net profit for the full year, with reduced profits in the third and fourth quarters. Ryanair CEO Michael O'Leary attributed the anticipated profit drop to high oil prices, tough competition and the planned addition of 27 new Boeing 737-800s in the winter that will front a massive capacity expansion.
Swiss posted a CHF98 million (US$79 million) operating profit in the first half of 2006, up from a CHF9 million operating loss a year earlier. Revenues were up 11.7% at CHF1.9 billion (US$1.5 billion). Swiss said it benefited from the strong economic development in all of its important markets. CEO Christoph Franz pointed out that the airline needed an average 5%-8% operating margin to be able to fund future growth. Swiss plans to add two Airbus A340s to its long-haul fleet next year and is considering two more. -JF
