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 pay agreement reached by Lufthansa and its pilot union Vereinigung Cockpit (VC) has set the stage for a series of tough wage negotiations at European carriers later this year. Pilot unions are expected to demand significant pay raises, following a trend set by earlier wage deals at United and Delta in the U.S. Some observers cautioned that increases in Europe might not turn out to be quite as high, however. Wage negotiations are taking place just as European carriers are beginning to feel sluggish demand in their international traffic.
Fairchild Dornier is in discussions with the German government about potential export support to counter the Brazilian government's Proex export incentive program for rival Embraer. President and CEO Louis Harrington said the move was being made to counter what he considers an ``unbalanced playing field'' on the world market. Fairchild Dornier would use the financing aid ``as a defensive measure'' only in competitions where it is pitted against Embraer.
While the U.S. airline industry is on the verge of another major consolidation move, European airlines are barely beginning to take the first steps down that road in spite of large-scale inefficiencies and a relatively widespread lack of profitability.
