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.
Virgin Atlantic Airways still has “close interest in a combination with BMI,” the airline said in a statement on Monday, raising the number of potential buyers to at least two. The comment comes after Lufthansa said recently that it is looking at partnerships for or an outright sale of BMI. Lufthansa has hired a bank, believed to be Morgan Stanley, as an adviser in the process. It also comes after International Airlines Group (IAG) stated that it “has made no secret of its interest in acquiring BMI,” but that “the ball is now in Lufthansa’s hands.”
While Western European carriers such as Lufthansa and Air France-KLM have been complaining about the alleged subsidies enjoyed by their rivals in the Middle East, their competitors in Eastern Europe receive massive government financial support. Most of these ex-flag carriers are state-owned anyway and would not be flying anywhere if private shareholders had to carry the huge losses incurred in the past 20 years.
Major airlines across the Continent are looking to reposition their business now that the sky over Europe's network carriers has darkened, with little prospect in sight for economic recovery. Europe's three big airline groups, Air France-KLM, International Airlines Group (IAG) and Lufthansa, are developing different ways to deal with an expected market slowdown. Strategies reach from asset disposals and acquisitions to cost-cutting programs and a focus on new consumer groups.
