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 hopes to return to profitability in 2007, after reporting a EUR55 million (US$71 million) loss in 2004, steeper than the EUR51 million recorded in 2003. Flughafen Muenchen GmbH (FMG) blamed heavy investment in Terminal 2 for the loss. FMG and Lufthansa jointly own and operate the EUR1.1 billion facility, which is used by all Star Alliance and Lufthansa partner airlines serving Munich. Passenger numbers were up 11% at 26.8 million last year, making Munich roughly half the size of Lufthansa's main hub in Frankfurt. -JF
Icelandair parent Flugleidir is expanding its presence in the leasing market with an order for 10 Boeing 737-800s. The Reykjavik-based company plans to lease the aircraft to airlines other than Icelandair and grow the third-party segment of its business. Together with other partners, Flugleidir has leased three 737-500s to Air Baltic. The 737-800 order also included purchase rights for an additional five aircraft.
Air France and Japan Airlines on Feb. 17 will start code sharing on the Paris-Nagoya route. The carriers reached a blocked-space agreement in which Air France can sell 80 economy- and 20 business-class seats. The flights are operated by JAL's Boeing 777-200s. -JF
