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.
Wizz Air says its initial experience during a month-long trial to test a charge for carry-on baggage has been very promising. The airline is charging 10 euros ($12.39) for every piece of hand luggage that does not fit underneath the seat. According to the Hungarian low-fare airline, about 10% of passengers are paying the extra fee. The carrier says it has launched the test to speed up the boarding process, but the fee also is a source of ancillary revenues. No other European airline charges for hand luggage.
If industry officials were right, a common travel experience at European airports may soon have looked like this: Very long queues—in the worst cases, five times as long as the current average—slow security checks, confusion about what passengers are allowed to bring on board and what is forbidden. And spending up to €50 million ($62 million) per terminal would have been required to facilitate upgrades.
