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.
Airlines seemed well positioned just a few months ago to absorb higher fuel costs, which were forecast to rise through 2011 along with rising crude oil prices. Of course, that was barring any shocks to the system. Now all bets are off, with oil supplies in Libya and some other oil-producing countries at varying degrees of risk and crude oil prices at their highest level in two years.
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has downgraded its 2011 profit guidance for the airline industry in spite of higher-than-expected demand. IATA believes its members will make an $8.6 billion combined profit this year, down from the $9.1 billion expected late last year. The revised profit prediction amounts to a 46% fall from last year’s level, when airlines reached a $16 billion profit, the highest in the history of airlines.
Egyptair is postponing the launch of two new services to North America as a consequence of a massive decline in traffic. The airline originally planned to start flights from Cairo to Washington and Toronto in the summer, but will postpone the service at least until later in the year, Egyptair Chairman Hussein Massoud said in a briefing Tuesday. The airline is also considering the deferral of future aircraft deliveries, but has not yet made a decision.
