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.
Qatar Airways yesterday placed a huge order for the Airbus A350XWB, a commitment that has been under negotiation for months. The airline signed a memorandum of understanding covering the purchase of 80 A350XWBs -- 20 more than the original A350 deal planned in 2005. Also yesterday, Colombia's Avianca confirmed it will order 38 Airbus aircraft, with an additional 32 options. The deal includes five firm orders and five options for A330-200s, and 33 orders 27 options for A319s and A320s.
Airbus is under pressure from some of its key customers to revise important features of its current A350 design. A group of customers -- among them Emirates -- want Airbus to build complete composite fuselage barrels for the aircraft, instead of using panels that must be fitted to aluminum frames.
Consolidation in the European air transport sector could get a major boost if a planned bid for Iberia by a British Airways-led consortium succeeds. Following weeks of behind-the-scenes negotiations, BA last week confirmed that it "has joined with TPG Capital, Vista Capital de Expansion, Inversiones Ibersuizas, and Quercus Equity to investigate a possible consortium offer for Iberia." BA cautioned that "there is no guarantee that a formal bid will be made," although industry officials say it is likely.
