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.
Airbus Executive VP-Operations Gerard Blanc is leaving the company after more than 30 years, a move that could be a huge loss for the airframer at a crucial time as it tries to catch up on delays in the A380 program and ramp up A350 development. Blanc reportedly wrote a memo to staff explaining his departure. Airbus did not comment.
German low-fare airline DBA recorded its first-ever full-year profit last year, Chairman Hans-Rudolf Woehrl said last week. The company made a EUR1.7 million (US$2 million) net profit on EUR279 million (US$336 million) last year, having lost EUR62 million a year earlier. DBA was set up in 1992 as British Airways subsidiary Deutsche BA and never turned a profit until a year ago. It revamped its operations in 2002 to turn into a low-fare carrier.
EasyJet is adding six daily services to its European network, a move that will result in the airline serving 216 markets and 64 airports. The airline will launch services from London Gatwick airport to Murcia, Spain, and Grenoble, France, on Sept. 23 and Dec. 16, respectively. It also starts services from Dortmund to both Barcelona and Milan on Oct. 30 and from Geneva to Lisbon and Malaga, Spain. All the flights, except Lisbon, connect existing easyJet destinations. -JF
