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.
Sheikh Mohammed bin Issa al-Jaber no longer wants to invest EUR150 million in money-losing Austrian Airlines. Al-Jaber lawyers told the company in a letter over the weekend that he no longer feels obliged to participate in a planned capital increase. He criticized Austrian CEO Alfred Oetsch for having given him misleasing information about the airline’s true financial situation.
Lufthansa’s announced plan to take a majority stake in BMI next year presages a fundamental change for the British airline industry. How exactly the reshuffling will play out is not quite clear yet, as Lufthansa has made no comments about its plans for BMI. It’s a toss-up as to whether British Airways (BA) or Virgin Atlantic will be the big winner or big loser.
Emirates, one of the world’s most profitable and fastest-growing airlines, is bracing for tougher times ahead and expects profits to decline in the current fiscal year. “We are not far short of where we were last year, but you have to take fuel into account,” Emirates Airline President Tim Clark says. He predicts a net profit of 5 billion United Arab Emirates dirham ($1.36 billion) for the fiscal year ending Mar. 30, 2009. This compares to a $1.45-billion profit for the group in the last financial year.
