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.
Malev Hungarian Airlines posted a 24.5% increase in passengers in the first quarter, the airline said yesterday. Load factor was 59.1%, up from 51.7% a year ago. Other airlines experienced 24.3% passenger gains at Budapest. Malev said it is too soon to predict how the rest of the year will turn out: "After May 1, nine new airlines will start in the region, and that could reshape everything."
The German state of Hessen will buy a 17.5% stake in Hahn Airport, a decision which the state said was made to secure the region's cargo capacity. Hessen will spend EUR20 million (US$24 million) during a five-year period on the investment. Frankfurt airport operator Fraport currently holds 73.07% of the shares. Hahn Airport is used mainly by Ryanair as its German base and will be served by Air Polonia, starting this week (DAILY, March 30). It has also limited cargo operations.
British Airways traffic in March was up 12.7% on 5.8% more capacity, the airline said yesterday. The load factor improved 4.5 points to 74%. However, March and April 2003 were the two most affected months in the SARS and Iraq crisis last year. BA said the effects of the two events were not be felt to the same extent in the summer last year, indicating that growth figures might be smaller in the coming months. BA said that long-haul premium volumes are above last year's, while premium travel in Europe remains soft. -JF
