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.
U.K.-based business only airline Silverjet expects bookings to remain soft over the summer months. The airline said this week that already in June traffic had dropped 1.8% from May. "As is traditional in the transatlantic business class market, the summer months of July and August are softer than the rest of the year," CEO Lawrence Hunt said in a regulatory filing. -JF
Diehl Aerospace is interested in buying one or more of the German Airbus factories, Chairman Thomas Diehl said on Tuesday. Talks with Airbus are currently at a preliminary stage, according to Diehl, who expects them to gain momentum in the fall. A possible sale could be concluded by the end of the year.
Aegean Airlines yesterday raised $185 million in an initial public offering. The airline sold 17.8 million shares at EUR7.6 (US$10.36) a share. The Greek carrier plans to use the proceeds to fund its ambitious expansion plans. Aegean has a fleet of 21 aircraft and has a further 19 Airbus A320 family aircraft on order. Aegean started cooperating with Lufthansa this year and is feeding the Star Alliance carrier at its main hub in Frankfurt. -JF
