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.
Installation of JetBlue Airways’ long-awaited Wi-Fi service is set to begin in the coming weeks following the FAA’s approval of the system for Airbus A320s. The airline has selected Aviation Technical Services (ATS) to retrofit up to 130 Airbus A320s with the Internet system, which JetBlue calls Fly-Fi. The first aircraft is set to be modified in November or “possibly sooner,” ATS CEO Matt Yerbic tells Aviation Week. JetBlue says the fleet will be completed by 2015, with some work being handled by its LiveTV subsidiary in Orlando, Fla.
Oneworld has cleared Qatar Airways to join the alliance on Oct. 30, about 12 months after it extended the airline an invitation to become a member. The membership, when completed, will make Qatar the only big Gulf operator to join an alliance. Qatar’s regional rivals, Emirates Airline and Etihad Airways, while remaining independent of the alliances, are, however, becoming increasingly connected with other carriers through bilateral deals.
As Airbus’s first A350 prototype accumulates flight test hours, the other four aircraft scheduled to join the test campaign are progressing through various stages of final assembly. MSN003, the second A350 to fly—most likely in October—has completed ground tests including fuel systems and pressurization, and has its Rolls-Royce Trent XWB engines fitted. One of the primary tasks for MSN003 will be hot and cold weather trials, which are due to take place at the end of this year or early in 2014.
