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 will invest EUR300 million (US$351 million) in an upgrade of its business-class cabin, hitching onto a trend toward more executive jet service. The airline will introduce fully flat beds in November with the delivery of the first of its 10 firm-ordered Airbus A340-600s. The new seats will be fitted on all 80 long-haul aircraft -- A340-600s, A330-200/300s, A340-300s and Boeing 747-400s -- starting with the Airbus models. Lufthansa Chairman and CEO Wolfgang Mayrhuber said most of the fleet would have the new seats within 18 months.
The Austrian Airlines Group decided to stop recruiting pilots for the group's mainline carrier, Austrian, after failing to reach an agreement with the workers council for pilots.
Irish state-owned carrier Aer Lingus plans to introduce nine new European routes next year. The airline will start flying from Dublin to Berlin, Venice, Bilbao, Valencia, Lyon and Zurich by the end of March 2004. Two months later, it will start operations to Warsaw, Copenhagen and Dubrovnik. Most of the new destinations will generate leisure traffic. Aer Lingus last month ordered 17 Airbus A320 aircraft to support the expansion. -JF
