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.
Finnair has sold its 4.7% stake in low-fare carrier Norwegian Air Shuttle for €54 million ($70.4 million), producing a €34 million capital gain for the Finnish operator. The stake was of no strategic value to Finnair; the airline acquired the holding in 2007 when it sold its Swedish affiliate FlyNordic to Norwegian.
International Airlines Group (IAG) has proceeded with another part of its fleet renewal strategy by signing a memorandum of understanding with Airbus for 18 A350-1000s and 18 options. All of the aircraft included in this deal are destined for IAG’s British Airways (BA) operation, but the operator also negotiated commercial terms and production slots for an additional batch of aircraft that would be allocated to its Iberia division.
Lufthansa’s flight operations yesterday were essentially grounded as a result of a one-day strike called by trade union Verdi. The airline operated about 30 of its 1,800 scheduled daily services after ground staff walked off the job early in the morning. All Lufthansa stations were affected, and unlike in previous strikes the airline could operate most of its long-haul services.
