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.
Goldman Sachs at midweek dramatically downgraded estimates for the European airline sector, citing concerns about high fuel prices, cutting its 2005 earnings forecast for the major European carriers anywhere from 25% to 64%, and an average of 46%. The analysts updated their guidance because of continuing high fuel prices and their belief that prices will remain high.
With fuel prices rising to record-high levels, several European airlines yesterday found themselves forced to increase existing surcharges to recover the additional costs. Air France will charge its passengers EUR11 (US$13.52) more per long-haul sector, while KLM will increase the surcharge by EUR7 (US$8.61) on intercontinental routes. The fare hike will be rescinded once the oil price has dipped below $40 per barrel for 30 consecutive days.
Ryanair's traffic in September was up 17%, the airline reported this week. The company carried 2.37 million passengers in the month, leading to an 87% load factor, up from 85% last year. The airline also said 97% of all tickets were booked on its web site, compared with 94% a year ago.
