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.
The erratic flight path in bad weather conditions of a Swiss International Air Lines' Saab 2000 twin turboprop, which ended in a crash landing at a former military air base, is raising questions about the newly formed carrier's operating procedures. None of the 20 crewmembers and passengers were injured, but the aircraft suffered severe damage. The BFU German accident investigation office has formed a team to determine the causes of the July 10 mishap. The Saab 2000, operating the Basel-Hamburg route as Flight 850, departed at 5:55 p.m.
German investigators are looking at work-rule compliance and potential system deficiencies at Swiss air traffic control provider Skyguide, as well as cockpit procedures, to determine what caused the midair collision between two commercial jets over southern Germany on July 1. Traffic in the region is handled by Skyguide. The aircraft--a DHL Boeing 757 (A9C-DHL) and a Bashkirian Airlines Tupolev Tu-154 (RA-85816)--collided over the northern shore of Lake Constance near the town of Ueberlingen close to Akabi waypoint. All 71 on both aircraft died.
Hopes of rescuing Fairchild Dornier are fading in the wake of a Lufthansa German Airlines decision to cancel its order for 60 728 twinjets. Lufthansa long believed in the 70-seat 728's merits and considered the aircraft the right product for its regional subsidiary CityLine. However, a company official said late last week that the airline's management had no choice but to cancel the order. Lufthansa is believed to be evaluating the Embraer 170 and Bombardier's CRJ 700 to rejuvenate CityLine's fleet.
