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.
Mongolian Airlines (MIAT) is having to reassess its future plans following the landslide victory in last year's parliamentary elections of the Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party (MPRP). The state-owned airline was expected to be partially sold off by the end of 2000 under the previous government's plans to privatize state companies. The carrier was looking to injections of private capital to modernize its fleet and underpin expansion plans. But the MPRP made clear that it would scale back the pace of reforms and privatization in Mongolia.
FedEx went for capacity and range in selecting the Airbus A380-800F for its next generation of freight aircraft over other possible contenders, including a possible Boeing 747X Stretch. Motivated by predictions of 7% annual air cargo growth for the next 20 years and constraints in landing slots at a number of major international airports, FedEx signed up as the launch customer with Airbus for what will be the world's largest long-range cargo aircraft.
To some of the key players in the European airline industry, it is not yet clear if they should be happy about or afraid of what is happening across the Atlantic. The takeover of TWA by American and the proposed merger of United and US Airways represents a degree of consolidation in the industry that is still unthinkable in Europe. There is a marked difference between the two markets and their respective regulatory environments.
