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.
Next year should be the most profitable ever for the airline industry, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) predicts. IATA upped its profit forecast for 2013 and 2014 based on several beneficial factors. The group believes that the industry will post a combined net profit of $19.7 billion in 2014, $3.3 billion higher than the last forecast in September. This year is also going to be better than expected as profits will rise to $12.9 billion, up from the previous prediction of $11.7 billion.
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) expects passenger air traffic to grow faster during the next few years than it has in the previous five years. In its latest Airline Industry Forecast, the association estimates air travel will grow by 5.4% annually (compound annual growth rate, CAGR). That is significantly more than the 4.3% the industry has seen in the five years up to and including 2012. According to IATA, growth has been slower in that period because of the 2008 global financial crisis in its longer term effects on the global economy.
