SunExpress
IATA ICAO Callsign
XQ SXS SUNEXPRESS
FoundedOctober 1989 (1989-10)
Commenced operations1990 (1990)
Hubs
Frequent-flyer programSunExpress your benefits
Fleet size53
Destinations92[1]
Parent company
HeadquartersAntalya, Turkey
Key people
  • Max Kownatzki (CEO)
  • Ahmet Fevzi Çalışkan (Deputy CEO)
Employees5,000
Websitewww.sunexpress.com

SunExpress, is a Turkish-German airline based in Antalya.[2] SunExpress was founded in October 1989 as a joint venture between Turkish Airlines and Lufthansa. It operates scheduled and chartered passenger flights to 90 destinations in 30 countries in Europe as well as North Africa, the Mediterranean, Black Sea, and Red Sea.[3] The airline concentrates on international tourism, domestic Turkish flights to cities in Anatolia, and wet leasing. The total number of SunExpress employees is 5,000.

History

SunExpress Boeing 737-800 in the old livery
SunExpress Boeing 737-800 in special livery to celebrate the 20th anniversary

SunExpress was founded in Antalya in October 1989 as a joint venture of Turkish Airlines and Lufthansa. Its first flight was in 1990.

SunExpress became the first private airline company to offer international scheduled flights from Turkey with its first Antalya-Frankfurt flight in 2001. SunExpress opened its second base in İzmir and started to operate domestic flights in 2006. With this launch, SunExpress became the first airline company to connect İzmir with Anatolian cities with direct flights in Turkey.

In May 2010, SunExpress took delivery of the first of six newly purchased Boeing 737-800s and launched its new corporate identity including its new logo, aircraft livery, new corporate colours, uniforms and visual identity elements.

SunExpress Deutschland GmbH was founded in 2011. The company started business operations in June 2011. Besides the Turkish destinations on the South Coast, on the Aegean, on the Black Sea and in the East of the country, it also serves – with German registration – destinations along the Mediterranean, Black Sea, North Africa and Red Sea.

SunExpress decided to invest in its building and SunExpress Plaza was built in June 2012. The new company building is environmental friendly, and is located in a natural setting. The architectural theme of the building is transparency and naturalness; therefore each room has been designed so that it has access to natural light and fresh air. The sun is a source for clean energy inside the building. The solar panels on the roof generate enough electricity to supply power to all of the computers. On the exterior of the building, “smart” glass panels have been used to allow sun rays to shine inside the building while blocking out unwanted heat to help reduce cooling costs. Orange, bergamot, and lemon trees have been planted in both the interior and exterior gardens. The building consists of 1 basement and 4 floors which house 250 SunExpress employees in 87 offices. There are several special category spaces incorporating meeting, briefing, training, storage, and various special operation rooms. The building also hosts common archive room, a stationary flight simulator room and a general purpose auditorium.

On 23 June 2020, it has been announced that SunExpress' German subsidiary SunExpress Deutschland would cease operations and be liquidated.[4] Its route network would be partially taken over by SunExpress and Eurowings.[5]

On 30 October 2023, Sun Express Airlines successfully completed its inaugural flight to Ercan Airport (Northern Cyprus) with 118 passengers. This special flight coincided with the 100th Anniversary of the Republic of Turkey, marking a significant historical moment. Sun Express will operate flights to Ercan Airport on Sundays, Mondays, Thursdays, and Fridays, making four round trips per week. This new route is highlighted as a crucial step both for travelers wishing to travel from Izmir to Cyprus and for Ercan Airport to serve a broader audience. [6]

Destinations

As of January 2024, SunExpress flies to the following destinations:[7]

Country City Airport Notes Refs
AlbaniaTiranaTirana International Airport Nënë TerezaBegins 4 June 2024[8]
AustriaGrazGraz AirportBegins 2 April 2024[8]
ViennaVienna Airport
BosniaSarajevoSarajevo International AirportBegins 3 March 2024
BelgiumBrusselsBrussels Airport
BulgariaSofiaSofia AirportSeasonal[9]
Czech RepublicPragueVáclav Havel Airport Prague[8]
Cyprus (North)NicosiaErcan International Airport[10]
DenmarkAalborgAalborg AirportSeasonal
BillundBillund AirportSeasonal
CopenhagenCopenhagen AirportSeasonal
EgyptSharm El SheikhSharm El Sheikh International Airport[11]
FinlandHelsinkiHelsinki AirportSeasonal[8]
FranceLyonLyon–Saint-Exupéry AirportSeasonal
MarseilleMarseille Provence AirportSeasonal
ParisCharles de Gaulle Airport
GermanyBerlinBerlin Brandenburg Airport[8]
BremenBremen Airport
Cologne/BonnCologne Bonn Airport[8]
DortmundDortmund Airport
DresdenDresden AirportSeasonal[12]
DüsseldorfDüsseldorf Airport[8]
Erfurt/WeimarErfurt–Weimar AirportTerminated[12]
FrankfurtFrankfurt Airport
FriedrichshafenFriedrichshafen AirportTerminated[13][12]
HamburgHamburg Airport
HanoverHannover Airport
Karlsruhe/Baden-BadenKarlsruhe/Baden-Baden AirportTerminated[12]
Leipzig/HalleLeipzig/Halle Airport
MemmingenMemmingen AirportTerminated[14][12]
MunichMunich Airport[8]
Münster/OsnabrückMünster Osnabrück Airport
NurembergNuremberg Airport
Paderborn/LippstadtPaderborn Lippstadt Airport[15]
SaarbrückenSaarbrücken Airport
StuttgartStuttgart Airport[8]
WeezeWeeze AirportTerminated[16]
HungaryBudapestBudapest Ferenc Liszt International AirportSeasonal
IraqErbilErbil International AirportSeasonal[17]
IrelandDublinDublin Airport[18]
IsraelTel AvivBen Gurion AirportSeasonal[9]
ItalyMilanMilan Malpensa Airport[8]
RomeLeonardo da Vinci–Fiumicino AirportBegins 4 June 2024[8]
KosovoPristinaPristina International AirportBegins 3 June 2024[8]
LebanonBeirutBeirut–Rafic Hariri International AirportSeasonal[9]
MoldovaChișinăuChișinău International AirportTerminated[17]
MontenegroPodgoricaPodgorica International AirportBegins 4 June 2024[8]
NetherlandsAmsterdamAmsterdam Airport Schiphol
EindhovenEindhoven AirportSeasonal
RotterdamRotterdam The Hague AirportSeasonal[19]
North MacedoniaSkopjeSkopje International Airport
NorwayOsloOslo Gardermoen AirportSeasonal
PolandKatowiceKatowice Airport
WarsawWarsaw Chopin AirportSeasonal[8]
RomaniaBucharestHenri Coandă International AirportResumes 6 May 2024[20]
RussiaSaint PetersburgPulkovo AirportTerminated[21]
SloveniaLjubljanaLjubljana AirportTerminated[9]
SpainMadridAdolfo Suárez Madrid–Barajas AirportBegins 3 June 2024[8]
SwedenGothenburgGöteborg Landvetter AirportTerminated
StockholmStockholm Arlanda AirportSeasonal
Switzerland
France
Germany		Basel
Mulhouse
Freiburg		EuroAirport Basel Mulhouse Freiburg
SwitzerlandGenevaGeneva AirportSeasonal[17]
ZürichZurich Airport
TurkeyAdanaAdana Şakirpaşa Airport
AnkaraAnkara Esenboğa Airport
AntalyaAntalya AirportHub
BodrumMilas–Bodrum AirportSeasonal
DalamanDalaman AirportSeasonal
DiyarbakırDiyarbakır Airport[8]
ElazığElazığ AirportSeasonal
EskişehirHasan Polatkan Airport
ErzurumErzurum Airport
GaziantepGaziantep Oğuzeli Airport[8]
HatayHatay Airport[8]
Izmirİzmir Adnan Menderes AirportHub
KarsKars Harakani Airport
KayseriErkilet International Airport
KonyaKonya Airport
KütahyaZafer AirportSeasonal
MalatyaMalatya Erhaç Airport[8]
SamsunSamsun-Çarşamba Airport[8]
TrabzonTrabzon Airport
VanVan Ferit Melen Airport
ZonguldakZonguldak AirportSeasonal[17]
UkraineKyivBoryspil International AirportTerminated[9]
United Arab EmiratesAbu DhabiAbu Dhabi International Airport[22]
DubaiDubai International Airport
United KingdomBirminghamBirmingham Airport
BristolBristol Airport
EdinburghEdinburgh Airport[8]
Leeds/BradfordLeeds Bradford AirportBegins 31 March 2024[23]
LondonGatwick Airport[17]
Luton AirportTerminated[24]
London Stansted Airport[8]
ManchesterManchester Airport[17]
Newcastle upon TyneNewcastle International Airport
UzbekistanSamarqandSamarkand International Airport[25]

Fleet

SunExpress Boeing 737-800

As of 13th November 2023, the SunExpress fleet consists of the following aircraft:[26][27]

Aircraft In service Orders Passengers Notes
Boeing 737-800 49 — 189
Boeing 737 MAX 8 11[28] 59[29][30][31][32] 189 Option for 45 additional aircraft.
Boeing 737 MAX 10 — 17 TBA
Total 60 76

Special Liveries

SunExpress currently has five special liveries:

Airplane Type Aircraft Registration Livery Image
Boeing 737-800 TC-SEU World´s Best Leisure Airline
Boeing 737-800 TC-SNU Shaun the Sheep - Farmageddon
Boeing 737-800 TC-SPC Eintracht Frankfurt
Boeing 737-800 TC-SPE PAW Patrol: The Movie
Boeing 737-800 TC-SOZ Impressions of Istanbul by SunExpress

References

  1. ↑ "SunExpress on ch-aviation". ch-aviation. Retrieved 2023-12-04.
  2. ↑ "Imprint." SunExpress. Retrieved 19 February 2020.
  3. ↑ "Company Profile".
  4. ↑ "aviation24.be". Aviation24.be. 2020-06-23.
  5. ↑ aerotelegraph.com (German) 23 June 2020
  6. ↑ "Sun Express Begins Flights to Ercan Airport! | Caria Holidays".
  7. ↑ "Flight Connections Winter 2019/2020". SunExpress. Retrieved 19 February 2020.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 "SunExpress NS24 Network Expansion – 24SEP23". aeroroutes.com. 24 September 2023.
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 Liu, Jim. "SunExpress S21 network additions as of 11OCT20". Routesonline. Retrieved 13 October 2020.
  10. ↑ "Sun Express Begins Flights to Ercan Airport! | Caria Holidays".
  11. ↑ "SunExpress Adds Antalya – Sharm el Sheikh Service From Sep 2023". AeroRoutes. 27 July 2023. Retrieved 27 July 2023.
  12. 1 2 3 4 5 ""Hätte gerne noch mehr Kapazität draufgelegt"". 16 February 2018.
  13. ↑ "Sunexpress verbindet Friedrichshafen und Antalya".
  14. ↑ "Allgäu Airport startet mit SunExpress neue Strecke nach Antalya". Archived from the original on 2022-07-01.
  15. ↑ "Mit SunExpress nach Antalya". Archived from the original on 2021-10-23.
  16. ↑ "Niederländische Steuererhöhung beflügelt Flughafen Weeze". 14 December 2022.
  17. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "SunExpress Announces 2021 Summer Program". ftnnews.com. 23 February 2021.
  18. ↑ "SunExpress's Izmir Dublin Flights Restart". Railly News. 9 September 2021. Archived from the original on 3 October 2021. Retrieved 3 October 2021.
  19. ↑ "Offers - SunExpress".
  20. ↑ "SunExpress va relua zborurile regulate dintre București și Antalya în 2024". 21 September 2023.
  21. ↑ "SunExpress plans new routes in S18". routesonline.com. 16 November 2017.
  22. ↑ "SUNEXPRESS ADDS ABU DHABI SERVICE FROM SEP 2023". Aeroroutes. 19 June 2023. Retrieved 19 June 2023.
  23. ↑ "Leeds Bradford gains new SunExpress route".
  24. ↑ "Route network - SunExpress". Archived from the original on 8 April 2022. Retrieved 8 April 2022.
  25. ↑ "SunExpress Schedules Samarqand mid-Nov 2023 Launch". AeroRoutes. 25 September 2023. Retrieved 25 September 2023.
  26. ↑ "Fleet". sunexpress.com.
  27. ↑ "SunExpress Fleet Details and History". Planespotters.net. June 28, 2023. Retrieved June 28, 2023.
  28. ↑ "SunExpress Takes Delivery of Its First Boeing 737 MAX". 8 December 2021.
  29. ↑ Perry, Dominic. "DUBAI: SunExpress tops up Max orders with 10-unit deal". FlightGlobal. Retrieved 18 November 2019.
  30. ↑ "SunExpress places order for 50 Boeing aircraft". reuters.com. 19 February 2014. Retrieved 19 February 2014.
  31. ↑ "Boeing Inks New Deal With SunExpress Worth Billions". fool.com. 19 February 2014. Retrieved 21 February 2014.
  32. ↑ "SunExpress to Buy up to 90 Boeing 737 MAX Jets to Fuel Robust Growth". Boeing Media Room. 13 November 2023. Retrieved 13 November 2023.

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