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SunExpress

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"Sun Express" redirects here. For the cargo ship attacked by Somali pirates, see MV Sun Express.
SunExpress
IATA ICAO Call sign
XQ SXS SUNEXPRESS
FoundedOctober 1989; 35 years ago (1989-10)
Commenced operations1990; 34 years ago (1990)
Operating bases
Frequent-flyer programyour benefits
Fleet size68
Destinations92[1]
Parent company
HeadquartersAntalya, Turkey
Key peopleMax Kownatzki (CEO)
RevenueIncrease 1.8 billion EUR (2023)
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.[citation needed]

History

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A SunExpress Boeing 737-800 in its original livery (2002).
A SunExpress Boeing 737-800 wearing a special livery to celebrate the airline's 20th anniversary (2010).

Foundation and early years

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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.

Development since 2010

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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 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 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 one basement and four 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 a common archive room, a stationary flight simulator room and a general purpose auditorium.[citation needed]

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. SunExpress 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 İzmir to Cyprus and for Ercan Airport to serve a broader audience. [6] In 2024, SunExpress and the Bulgarian airline Electra Airways announced a new flight program for flights to the Bulgarian Black Sea coast, covering the summer tourist season with flights from 7 German airports to Varna and Burgas. The new project will operate through joint operations, with SunExpress participating through sales and flight program planning, while Electra Airways will provide aircraft and crew.

Destinations

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

Country City Airport Notes Refs
Albania Tirana Tirana International Airport Nënë Tereza Seasonal [8]
Austria Graz Graz Airport [8]
Vienna Vienna Airport
Bosnia and Herzegovina Sarajevo Sarajevo International Airport
Belgium Brussels Brussels Airport
Bulgaria Sofia Sofia Airport Seasonal [9]
Czech Republic Prague Václav Havel Airport Prague [8]
Cyprus (North) Nicosia Ercan International Airport [10]
Denmark Aalborg Aalborg Airport Seasonal
Billund Billund Airport Seasonal
Copenhagen Copenhagen Airport Seasonal
Egypt Sharm El Sheikh Sharm El Sheikh International Airport [11]
Estonia Tallinn Lennart Meri Tallinn Airport Seasonal
Finland Helsinki Helsinki Airport Seasonal [8]
France Lyon Lyon–Saint-Exupéry Airport Seasonal
Marseille Marseille Provence Airport Seasonal
Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport
Germany Berlin Berlin Brandenburg Airport [8]
Bremen Bremen Airport
Cologne/Bonn Cologne Bonn Airport [8]
Dortmund Dortmund Airport
Dresden Dresden Airport Seasonal [12]
Düsseldorf Düsseldorf Airport [8]
Erfurt/Weimar Erfurt–Weimar Airport Seasonal [12][13]
Frankfurt Frankfurt Airport
Friedrichshafen Friedrichshafen Airport Terminated [14][12]
Hamburg Hamburg Airport
Hanover Hannover Airport
Karlsruhe/Baden-Baden Karlsruhe/Baden-Baden Airport Terminated [12]
Leipzig/Halle Leipzig/Halle Airport
Memmingen Memmingen Airport Terminated [15][12]
Munich Munich Airport [8]
Münster/Osnabrück Münster Osnabrück Airport
Nuremberg Nuremberg Airport
Paderborn/Lippstadt Paderborn Lippstadt Airport [16]
Saarbrücken Saarbrücken Airport
Stuttgart Stuttgart Airport [8]
Weeze Weeze Airport Terminated [17]
Hungary Budapest Budapest Ferenc Liszt International Airport Seasonal
Iraq Erbil Erbil International Airport Seasonal [18]
Ireland Dublin Dublin Airport [19]
Israel Tel Aviv Ben Gurion Airport Seasonal [9]
Italy Milan Milan Malpensa Airport [8]
Rome Rome Fiumicino Airport Seasonal [8]
Kosovo Pristina Pristina International Airport Seasonal [8]
Lebanon Beirut Beirut–Rafic Hariri International Airport Seasonal [9]
Moldova Chișinău Chișinău International Airport Terminated [18]
Netherlands Amsterdam Amsterdam Airport Schiphol
Eindhoven Eindhoven Airport Seasonal
Rotterdam Rotterdam The Hague Airport Seasonal [20]
North Macedonia Skopje Skopje International Airport
Norway Oslo Oslo Gardermoen Airport Seasonal
Poland Katowice Katowice Airport
Warsaw Warsaw Chopin Airport Seasonal [8]
Romania Bucharest Henri Coandă International Airport [21]
Russia Saint Petersburg Pulkovo Airport Terminated [22]
Slovenia Ljubljana Ljubljana Airport Terminated [9]
Spain Madrid Madrid–Barajas Airport Seasonal [8]
Sweden Gothenburg Göteborg Landvetter Airport Terminated
Stockholm Stockholm Arlanda Airport Seasonal
Switzerland
France
Germany		 Basel
Mulhouse
Freiburg		 EuroAirport Basel Mulhouse Freiburg
Switzerland Geneva Geneva Airport Seasonal [18]
Zürich Zurich Airport
Turkey Adana Adana Şakirpaşa Airport Terminated [23]
Adana/Mersin Çukurova International Airport [24]
Ankara Ankara Esenboğa Airport
Antalya Antalya Airport Hub [25]
Bodrum Milas–Bodrum Airport Seasonal
Bursa Yenişehir Airport [26]
Dalaman Dalaman Airport Seasonal [27]
Diyarbakır Diyarbakır Airport [8]
Elazığ Elazığ Airport [28]
Eskişehir Hasan Polatkan Airport
Erzurum Erzurum Airport [29]
Gaziantep Gaziantep Oğuzeli Airport [8]
Hatay Hatay Airport Terminated [8]
İzmir İzmir Adnan Menderes Airport Hub [30]
Kars Kars Harakani Airport
Kayseri Erkilet International Airport
Konya Konya Airport
Kütahya Zafer Airport Seasonal
Malatya Malatya Erhaç Airport [8]
Samsun Samsun-Çarşamba Airport [8][31]
Sanliurfa Şanlıurfa GAP Airport [32]
Sivas Sivas Airport [33]
Trabzon Trabzon Airport [34]
Van Van Ferit Melen Airport [35]
Zonguldak Zonguldak Airport Seasonal [18]
Ukraine Kyiv Boryspil International Airport Terminated [9]
United Arab Emirates Abu Dhabi Abu Dhabi International Airport [36]
Dubai Dubai International Airport
United Kingdom Birmingham Birmingham Airport
Bristol Bristol Airport
Edinburgh Edinburgh Airport [8]
Glasgow Glasgow Airport Begins 4 April 2025 [37]
Leeds/Bradford Leeds Bradford Airport Seasonal [38]
Liverpool Liverpool John Lennon Airport Begins 6 April 2025 [39]
London Gatwick Airport [18]
Luton Airport [40]
London Stansted Airport [8]
Manchester Manchester Airport [18]
Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle International Airport
Uzbekistan Samarqand Samarkand International Airport [41]

Codeshare agreements

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Interline agreements

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Fleet

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SunExpress Boeing 737-800
SunExpress Boeing 737 MAX 8
A former SunExpress Boeing 757-200 wearing its original livery in 2007

Current fleet

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As of November 2024, the SunExpress fleet consists of the following aircraft:[46]

Aircraft In service Orders Passengers Notes
Airbus A320-200 3 — 180 Leased from Avion Express.
Boeing 737-800 55 — 189
Boeing 737 MAX 8 17 52 189 Option for 45 additional aircraft.[47][48][49][50]
Boeing 737 MAX 10 — 17 TBA
Total 75 69

Historic fleet

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SunExpress had also operated the following aircraft types in the past:[citation needed]

Former SunExpress fleet
Aircraft Total Introduced Retired Notes
Boeing 737-300 4 1990 2002
Boeing 737-400 3 1993 2004
Boeing 737-700 12 2000 2015
Boeing 757-200 4 2005 2011

References

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  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. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u "SunExpress NS24 Network Expansion – 24SEP23". aeroroutes.com. 24 September 2023.
  9. ^ a b c d e 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. ^ a b c d e ""Hätte gerne noch mehr Kapazität draufgelegt"". 16 February 2018.
  13. ^ "SunExpress Adds Antalya – Erfurt from late-Sep 2024".
  14. ^ "Sunexpress verbindet Friedrichshafen und Antalya".
  15. ^ "Allgäu Airport startet mit SunExpress neue Strecke nach Antalya". Archived from the original on 2022-07-01.
  16. ^ "Mit SunExpress nach Antalya". Archived from the original on 2021-10-23.
  17. ^ "Niederländische Steuererhöhung beflügelt Flughafen Weeze". 14 December 2022.
  18. ^ a b c d e f "SunExpress Announces 2021 Summer Program". ftnnews.com. 23 February 2021.
  19. ^ "SunExpress's Izmir Dublin Flights Restart". Railly News. 9 September 2021. Archived from the original on 3 October 2021. Retrieved 3 October 2021.
  20. ^ "Offers - SunExpress".
  21. ^ "SunExpress va relua zborurile regulate dintre București și Antalya în 2024". 21 September 2023.
  22. ^ "SunExpress plans new routes in S18". routesonline.com. 16 November 2017.
  23. ^ https://www.aeroroutes.com/eng/240424-xqnw24tr
  24. ^ https://www.airporthaber2.com/havacilik-haberleri/sunexpressten-kis-sezonunda-ic-hatlarda-11-yeni-rota.html
  25. ^ https://www.airporthaber2.com/havacilik-haberleri/sunexpressten-kis-sezonunda-ic-hatlarda-11-yeni-rota.html
  26. ^ https://www.airporthaber2.com/havacilik-haberleri/sunexpressten-kis-sezonunda-ic-hatlarda-11-yeni-rota.html
  27. ^ https://www.aeroroutes.com/eng/240415-ukns24
  28. ^ https://www.aeroroutes.com/eng/240424-xqnw24tr
  29. ^ https://www.aeroroutes.com/eng/240424-xqnw24tr
  30. ^ https://www.aeroroutes.com/eng/240424-xqnw24tr
  31. ^ https://www.airporthaber2.com/havacilik-haberleri/sunexpressten-kis-sezonunda-ic-hatlarda-11-yeni-rota.html
  32. ^ https://www.airporthaber2.com/havacilik-haberleri/sunexpressten-kis-sezonunda-ic-hatlarda-11-yeni-rota.html
  33. ^ https://www.airporthaber2.com/havacilik-haberleri/sunexpressten-kis-sezonunda-ic-hatlarda-11-yeni-rota.html
  34. ^ https://www.aeroroutes.com/eng/240424-xqnw24tr
  35. ^ https://www.airporthaber2.com/havacilik-haberleri/sunexpressten-kis-sezonunda-ic-hatlarda-11-yeni-rota.html
  36. ^ "SUNEXPRESS ADDS ABU DHABI SERVICE FROM SEP 2023". Aeroroutes. 19 June 2023. Retrieved 19 June 2023.
  37. ^ "SunExpress - Book cheap flights & fly to top destinations .com". www.sunexpress.com. Retrieved 2024-08-28.
  38. ^ "Leeds Bradford gains new SunExpress route".
  39. ^ "SunExpress - Book cheap flights & fly to top destinations .com". www.sunexpress.com. Retrieved 2024-08-28.
  40. ^ "Route network - SunExpress". Archived from the original on 8 April 2022. Retrieved 8 April 2022.
  41. ^ "SunExpress Schedules Samarqand mid-Nov 2023 Launch". AeroRoutes. 25 September 2023. Retrieved 25 September 2023.
  42. ^ "Austrian / SunExpress Begins Codeshare Partnership in NW24".
  43. ^ https://aviationweek.com/air-transport/airports-networks/sunexpress-seeks-airline-partnerships-cee-expansion
  44. ^ https://havahaber.com/sunexpress-ve-eurowings-turkiye-ve-avrupa-arasindaki-ucus-seceneklerini-artirmak-icin-is-birliklerini-derinlestiriyor/
  45. ^ https://aviationweek.com/air-transport/airports-networks/sunexpress-seeks-airline-partnerships-cee-expansion
  46. ^ "Fleet". sunexpress.com. Retrieved 10 April 2024.
  47. ^ Perry, Dominic. "DUBAI: SunExpress tops up Max orders with 10-unit deal". FlightGlobal. Retrieved 18 November 2019.
  48. ^ "SunExpress places order for 50 Boeing aircraft". reuters.com. 19 February 2014. Retrieved 19 February 2014.
  49. ^ "Boeing Inks New Deal With SunExpress Worth Billions". fool.com. 19 February 2014. Retrieved 21 February 2014.
  50. ^ "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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