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 Group is taking a €434 million extraordinary charge in its 2013 results for the A350 program as the company struggles with higher than expected recurring costs for the new widebody aircraft. CEO Tom Enders says he cannot guarantee that the charge will be the last related to the aircraft. He admits that “it is a sizeable charge”, but stresses that the A350 will “still be a competitive program.”
Airbus is raising the production rate of its narrowbody line, boosting output from the current 42 aircraft per month to 46 by the second quarter of 2016. That move is to be preceded by an interim step up from 42 to 44 in the first quarter of 2016. The increase has been expected after Airbus CEO Fabrice Bregier said in January that single aisle output has “upside potential.”
