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.
Air Berlin plans to expand its fleet by seven aircraft in 2005, after a year of aggressive growth in 2004. The airline will take five more Boeing 737s and also take delivery of the first two of 60 Airbus A320s on order. The company said it is firmly established as Europe's third-largest low-fare airline with 45 aircraft and annual sales exceeding EUR1 billion. Revenues increased 18.9% last year and the airline said it also made a profit. As a privately held company, Air Berlin does not disclose results.
Ryanair carried 2.2 million passengers in December 2004, up 9% from a year earlier. Load factor remained flat at 83%. The airline sold 97% of its tickets on line, up from 96% in December of 2003. Ryanair is the first of Europe's large airlines to report traffic results for December. -JF
Lufthansa reduced its Internet booking fees after current charges turned out to be prohibitively expensive by comparison with those of other airlines. The airline will charge EUR10 (US$13) per booking on domestic and European flights and EUR15 (US$20) for long-haul flights, compared with EUR30 and EUR45 in the past. The airline said travel agencies and other providers charged customers less and could offer lower-end prices.
