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, backed by strong expansion of its intercontinental network and stable yields, posted a profit in the first nine months of 2004 and stuck to its profit forecast for the full year. Four of the group's six business units were profitable in the period, while catering unit LSG SkyChefs and tourism arm Thomas Cook AG continued to post significant losses. With the airline in strong financial shape -- its liquidity exceeds total debt by EUR791 million (US$1 billion) -- negotiations with unions over staff cost cuts continue to be a major challenge.
DHL will move its European hub to Leipzig Halle Airport in Germany, with the expectation of creating about 3,500 jobs in the region. The Deutsche Post World Net subsidiary plans to invest EUR300 million (US$387 million) at the new site. The project is supported by EUR70 million in subsidies approved by the European Commission.
Lufthansa's traffic improved 14.8% in October, backed by strong demand on its Asian network. The airline expanded total capacity by 14.7%, leading to a 76.2% load factor, up 0.1 percentage point. The airline continued its large-scale expansion into Asia with 23.7% more capacity that was almost entirely sold as demand increased by 23%. Both the Europe and the Americas markets grew slower at 12.8 and 13.9%, respectively. Lufthansa's shares lost 0.85% yesterday. -JF
