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 second Airbus A380 made its first flight yesterday in Toulouse and will join the first in the aircraft certification program. The plane took off at 10:49 a.m. local time with two pilots and three test flight engineers on board. The flight focused on the Southwest of France and the region west of Toulouse. The second A380 off the line, MSN004, will be used for the hot-and-high as well as cold weather trials later this year and next year. Meanwhile, MSN001 has accumulated 105 flights and 366 flight hours.
Lufthansa's mainline pilots could opt for a strike by the end of the month, if the airline and its employees cannot reach an agreement by then in a long-standing dispute over the current scope clause. The company and pilot union Vereinigung Cockpit (VC) are expected to meet next week in yet another round of talks. According to industry sources, pilot representatives are pushing for a quick decision and are under pressure from members to defend their interests.
Swiss International Air Lines is facing continued cost-cutting pressure from its new shareholder, Lufthansa. Lufthansa's Chairman and CEO Wolfgang Mayrhuber confirmed in an interview with a Swiss newspaper that the takeover contract between the companies includes an exit clause. But, "I'm convinced that we will not [exercise] this option," he says.
