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.
Austrian expects to achieve an operating profit of around EUR50 million in 2004, the airline said, and plans to fly 9.4 million passengers. The figure would be a significant improvement over this year, in which the airline predicts it will earn EUR15 million (US$18.5 million). Austrian carried 8.5 million passengers in 2003.
Lufthansa plans to further expand its Munich hub with the addition of two long-haul destinations next year. The carrier will fly five times weekly to Guangzhou, China, beginning Feb. 1. The flight is routed via Shanghai and will become a daily service starting March 28. Lufthansa is also launching a daily service to US Airways' Charlotte, North Carolina, hub on March 26. Airbus A340-300s will be used on both flights. -JF
Air France continued on its strong growth path in November, backed by solid improvements in long-haul, European and domestic operations. The airline's overall traffic increased 4.6% on 4.1% more capacity, slower than its biggest continental European rival, Lufthansa. In Europe, demand was up 7% while domestic (6.2%) and long-haul (4%) grew at a slower pace. The load factor improved 0.3% to 74.5%, reflecting relatively strong capacity growth. In the cargo business, traffic rose 2.1%, but the load factor dropped by 2.5 points to 66.7%. -JF
