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.
The supervisory board of Austria’s state holding OEIAG yesterday approved of the sale of a 41.5% stake in Austrian Airlines to Lufthansa. The move comes after Lufthansa’s board waved through the agreement two days earlier. The deal is still subject to European Commission approval.
British Airways and Qantas could mark a new era in air transport history if they pull off the first-ever merger of carriers based on two different continents, though this could jeopardize the planned BA/Iberia airline pact. The two Oneworld members last week surprised the global airline industry by revealing that they are assessing just such an endeavor, which would take place “via a dual-listed company structure,” according to identical releases by the companies. They also pointed out that there is “no guarantee that any transaction will be forthcoming.”
Lufthansa has grounded four Airbus A300-600s to reduce its capacity in the current winter timetable. The aircraft are currently parked at Dresden Airport. The airline is considering additional measures and may pull three A340-300s from long-haul services. Officials say no decision has been made. Lufthansa is taking delivery of 52 aircraft next year, but plans to phase out 52 older jets to avoid adding new capacity to the market.
