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.
International Airlines Group (IAG) will make a takeover offer to acquire a 100% stake in Barcelona-based, low-fare airline Vueling. IAG is offering €7 ($8.90) per share in the planned transaction and would spend €113 million for the 54% stake not currently held by IAG subsidiary Iberia. The offer is expected to be made in the first quarter of 2013, and the deal is scheduled to close in the second quarter, says IAG.
SAS Group has delayed the publication of its third-quarter results, as negotiations over its latest restructuring plan and the extension and amount of its revolving credit facility are taking longer than expected. The airline was due to report detailed financial figures on Thursday, but pushed the announcement back by several days. The company stated that finalizing the plan to address its cost structure and complete asset disposals is “an essential part of these negotiations.”
Manufacturers tend to highlight trends such as the burgeoning middle class in emerging markets as key drivers for rising commercial aircraft demand. But the single most important factor is something less strategic: fleet replacement. According to Airbus’s latest global market forecast (GMF), more than 10,000 aircraft will be replaced in the next 20 years. Airbus predicts a total output of 27,000 new single-aisle and larger airliners by 2032. Those will be built by Airbus, Boeing, Bombardier and Embraer—and soon also by Comac and the United Aircraft Corp.
