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.
Ryanair is facing an increasingly hostile debate in Spain about alleged safety lapses after the airline was recently forced to divert several flights inbound to Spanish destinations. Its CEO, Michael O'Leary, is fighting back. Spanish Transport Minister Ana Pastor contacted the European Commission to call for more national oversight competencies within the EU. Pastor says “it is good to have lower fares, but we must not have lower safety standards.” The transport ministry added that the regulation should be changed within weeks.
Lufthansa’s board of directors has approved the establishment of a low-cost subsidiary to provide services across Europe. The unit will be based at Cologne/Bonn Airport and will start operations Jan. 1.
Air Arabia is shifting capacity growth away from its bases in Morocco and Egypt as it waits for the market to return after the Arab Spring uprising. “Our focus will be on Russia, the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) and Africa,” CEO Adel Ali told Aviation Week at the Low Fare Airline Congress in London.
