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.
With another hectic year ahead for commercial aircraft manufacturers, 2013 will see a shift in focus to widebody developments with the first flight of the Airbus A350 and stretched Boeing 787-9, and more clarity over the fate of the smaller A350-800 and a timetable for the 777X.
Airbus signed firm orders for 914 aircraft in 2012 and delivered 588 aircraft, according to figures released at the annual press conference in Toulouse. The results, particularly the number of orders, far exceed Airbus’s earlier guidance, which targeted 650 sales. However, Boeing still took over as the largest aircraft producer in 2012 after nine years in second place. The U.S. manufacturer also surpassed Airbus in terms of new orders.
The temporary grounding of the Boeing 787 fleet is causing major disruptions particularly for the aircraft's largest operator, All Nippon Airways (ANA). Others flying smaller 787 fleets are likely able to mitigate the impact better.
