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.
After a two-year pause in negotiations, the Star Alliance has re-invited Air India to become a member. The Star Chief Executive Board (CEB) voted unanimously in favor of the decision in an effort to improve the group’s presence in one of the largest and fastest-growing emerging markets.
The global airline industry is notorious for losing money. But for various reasons, 2014 looks set to be the most profitable year ever. That is the International Air Transport Association's (IATA) upbeat forecast and it applies to profits in absolute numbers. While the figure may look impressive, it only corresponds to a margin of 2.6%; the industry has had some better profit margins, most recently in 2010.
By the logic of “bigger is better,” Alaska Airlines should be in real trouble. It operates a modestly sized fleet from a relatively small home market with a business model somewhere between a low-fare carrier and legacy airline. Seattle-based Alaska, however, proves that logic does not always apply.
