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.
Lufthansa plans to focus on growing intercontinental routes from its Munich hub, hub manager Karl-Ulrich Garnadt said. The carrier plans to boost traffic by 6%-7% annually in a conservative scenario and today offers more European flights from Munich than from its primary hub in Frankfurt. The airline and Munich Airport invested about EUR1.1 billion in Munich's Terminal 2, designed to handle 25 million passengers in its first year of operation. The terminal is exclusively used by Lufthansa and its Star Alliance partners, plus affiliates like Air Dolomiti.
Air Berlin, Germany's second-largest airline, has no plans for an initial public offering this year, the company said Friday. An IPO has been looked at, however, and is not being ruled out for the future, a spokesman said. The airline is privately held by several investors and has placed a multi-billion order for new Airbus A320s to renew its fleet in the next few years. Air Berlin operates scheduled low-fare services, as well as a dense leisure network on behalf of German tour operators. The carrier does not disclose financial results. -JF
