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.
Lufthansa CEO Christoph Franz says the company’s third-quarter financial performance indicates a “trend reversal” for the group’s passenger airlines. Lufthansa Passage, the unit comprising Lufthansa and Germanwings, posted a €300 million ($408 million) operating profit in the period, an improvement of 170% over the previous year. According to Franz, the unit’s short-haul segment also will post a full-year operating profit for the first time in five years.
Qatar Airways CEO Akbar Al Baker says he would be interested in a further stretch of the Airbus A350. Such an aircraft “could meet our requirements” if it has the right payload and range characteristics, even in the very hot Qatar summers, Al Baker said yesterday on the sidelines of an event in Doha marking the airline’s formal membership in Oneworld. Al Baker, however, did not specify the range requirements for the aircraft.
