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 air traffic control provider DFS says about 100 of the 1,400 daily flights at Frankfurt will be canceled this week. DFS is opening a new tower for the airport on June 14. With controllers having to get used to the new systems, spacing between aircraft departing and arriving will be increased. Airline officials say they have some understanding for the decision, but would be concerned if the measure would last for more than a few days. Lufthansa is most affected with about 40 daily flights.
The Norwegian parliament authorized the country’s government to sell its stake in SAS Group, clearing a major hurdle on the way to eventual full privatization of the Scandinavian airline. Norway stated, however, that like the airline’s other two government shareholders, it will not exit unilaterally.
Leithen Francis (Singapore), Jens Flottau (Singapore), Adrian Schofield (Singapore)
Airlines around the world are looking to the Asia-Pacific region, and China and India in particular, to fuel their growth, but there is a danger Middle East carriers may soak up much of the traffic originating in Asia-Pacific. Besides the competitive threat from the Middle East, rising fuel prices and regional disasters have dramatically reduced the global airline industry's margins, putting the industry as a whole in a precarious position from which it will be difficult to turn a profit if economic growth slows or there is another shock to the system.
