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.
Growth in international air traffic is slowing, according to new data released by IATA, but the group reiterated its prediction of a $1.7 billion full-year loss for the industry. International traffic in September increased 4.7%, significantly lower than the 5.9% average growth for the first eight months of the year. The trend of slower traffic growth began in May and is "starting to weaken the strong revenue environment, but efficiency gains and careful capacity management continue," said CEO Giovanni Bisignani.
South African Airways low-cost subsidiary Mango is to start flight operations on Nov. 15, the company said this week. SAA set up the new subsidiary to compete with rivals such as 1time and Nationwide more effectively. The national carrier's domestic market share has dropped to below 50% in recent years. Rivals criticized the move, saying the state-owned carrier could cross-subsidize its new affiliate and thus distort competition. Further details on Mango's network and expansion plans have not been released. -JF
