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.
Airbus and Boeing are faced with satisfying a complex set of new requirements when it comes to winning orders from state-owned South African Airways (SAA), complying with offset conditions that are more typical for the defense industry than for commercial aviation. Public Enterprises Minister Malusi Gigaba has told SAA management to abandon its current plans to renew the airline’s long-haul fleet and to issue a new request for proposals (RFP) that includes assurances made by industry to place work in South Africa.
Airbus revised its Asia-Pacific demand outlook upwards by almost 1,000 units over 20 years, reflecting the strong growth the manufacturer expects in the region. The company believes around 10,000 additional aircraft will be needed in Asia to cope with an annual increase in demand of close to 6%. “This is where the action will be in the coming years,” Airbus CEO Fabrice Bregier said on the opening day of the Singapore airshow.
Airbus has scored its first major order for the A380 this year, after Amedeo firmed up a memorandum of understanding signed at last year’s Paris Air Show covering delivery of 20 aircraft through the end of the decade. The commmitment from Amedo, formerly a part of Doric Lease Corp., brings Airbus more than half-way to its target of reaching at least 30 additional orders for the aircraft in 2014. The deal was announced at the Singapore Airshow.
