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.
For most European network carriers, short-haul operations have been little more than a necessary evil—needed to fill long-haul aircraft but a big drain on funds. Lufthansa is only the latest to try to surmount that situation, although there is little doubt it faces an uphill battle.
The Airbus A350-900’s entry into service has been delayed again, this time because of late arriving center fuselage panels. In its third-quarter 2011 earnings release, Airbus parent EADS confirmed that service entry of the aircraft now is scheduled in the first half of 2014. Airbus booked a €200 million ($273 million) charge for the program in the third quarter.
Lufthansa plans to expand its presence in Berlin significantly next year as a part of a new direct service strategy aimed at turning around its money-losing European network. “Berlin can very well serve as a blueprint for other stations,” Carsten Spohr, CEO of Lufthansa’s passenger airline, tells reporters in Berlin. According to Spohr, the airline expects the new Berlin operation to become profitable within two years.
