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.
German regional carrier Cirrus Airlines filed for bankruptcy Jan. 23 after having ceased flight operations late last week. Germany’s civil aviation authority, Luftfahrtbundesamt, suspended the carrier’s air operator’s certificate. Cirrus said in a statement that flight operations will remain suspended. The airline has a fleet of eight Dornier 328s and one Embraer 170. It has been operating its own scheduled services and some wet-lease flights on behalf of other carriers, including Lufthansa.
Competition authorities in Austria and Germany approved Etihad Airways’ investment in Air Berlin. Last month, Etihad revealed plans to acquire a 29.21% stake in Air Berlin, making it the German carrier’s largest shareholder. The two carriers have put in place a reciprocal frequent flyer program agreement and plan to begin code-sharing following regulatory approval. The cooperation also includes aircraft maintenance in Duesseldorf and Abu Dhabi. Air Berlin, which had been flying from Berlin to Dubai, is moving that service to Abu Dhabi to enable the link.
Lufthansa Chairman Juergen Weber says the group should initiate much closer integration between its various airlines to take advantage of potential benefits much more aggressively. Weber, who was CEO until 2004, urged executives at a senior management meeting not to engage in fights between those who support more central control and those in favor of keeping responsibilities local.
