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.
TAP Portugal CEO Fernando Pinto says he hopes the privatization of the airline will be restarted soon, and that Brazilian investor Synergy Group will again be the frontrunner. “I hear that Synergy Group continues to be interested. It would be a good fit,” Pinto said at the ISTAT Europe conference in Barcelona. Synergy was close to buying TAP at the end of last year, but the process collapsed just before closing. Pinto says that was because there was insufficient time to complete the transaction ahead of a self-imposed deadline before the end of the year.
Airbus looks set to finally catch up with Boeing in the Japanese market following a major deal for Airbus A350s from Japan Airlines (JAL). JAL yesterday announced a deal that includes a firm order for 18 A350-900s and 13 A350-1000s and options for a further 25 aircraft, with deliveries scheduled to start in 2019. The order is the first widebody commitment for Airbus aircraft by either Japan Airlines or All Nippon Airways, the dominant airlines in Japan. JAL inherited a fleet for Airbus A300s when it acquired Japan Air System.
Airbus Chief Operating Officer-Customers John Leahy is indicating that the manufacturer might consider a larger A350 variant. “We might stretch it, we are not sure how big the market is,” he told delegates at the ISTAT Europe conference in Barcelona. “We are studying it.” Leahy made the argument that “what the market needs is simplicity” and that the three current versions of the A350 compete well with Boeing’s 777, 787 and 777X products.
