# SunExpress

SunExpress is a Turkish-German airline based in Antalya. 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. 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
### Foundation and early years

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

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

As of June 2024, SunExpress flies to the following destinations:
| Country | City | Airport | Notes |
| Albania | Tirana | Tirana International Airport Nënë Tereza | Seasonal |
| Austria | Graz | Graz Airport | |
| Austria | Vienna | Vienna Airport | |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | Sarajevo | Sarajevo International Airport | |
| Belgium | Brussels | Brussels Airport | |
| Bulgaria | Sofia | Vasil Levski Sofia Airport | Seasonal |
| Czech Republic | Prague | Václav Havel Airport Prague | |
| Cyprus (North) | Nicosia | Ercan International Airport | |
| Denmark | Aalborg | Aalborg Airport | Seasonal |
| Denmark | Billund | Billund Airport | Seasonal |
| Denmark | Copenhagen | Copenhagen Airport | Seasonal |
| Egypt | Sharm El Sheikh | Sharm El Sheikh International Airport | |
| Estonia | Tallinn | Lennart Meri Tallinn Airport | Seasonal |
| Finland | Helsinki | Helsinki Airport | Seasonal |
| France | Lyon | Lyon–Saint-Exupéry Airport | Seasonal |
| France | Marseille | Marseille Provence Airport | Seasonal |
| France | Paris | Charles de Gaulle Airport | |
| Germany | Berlin | Berlin Brandenburg Airport | |
| Germany | Bremen | Bremen Airport | |
| Germany | Cologne/Bonn | Cologne Bonn Airport | |
| Germany | Dortmund | Dortmund Airport | |
| Germany | Dresden | Dresden Airport | Seasonal |
| Germany | Düsseldorf | Düsseldorf Airport | |
| Germany | Erfurt/Weimar | Erfurt–Weimar Airport | Seasonal |
| Germany | Frankfurt | Frankfurt Airport | |
| Germany | Friedrichshafen | Friedrichshafen Airport | Terminated |
| Germany | Hamburg | Hamburg Airport | |
| Germany | Hanover | Hannover Airport | |
| Germany | Karlsruhe/Baden-Baden | Karlsruhe/Baden-Baden Airport | Terminated |
| Germany | Leipzig/Halle | Leipzig/Halle Airport | |
| Germany | Memmingen | Memmingen Airport | Terminated |
| Germany | Munich | Munich Airport | |
| Germany | Münster/Osnabrück | Münster Osnabrück Airport | |
| Germany | Nuremberg | Nuremberg Airport | |
| Germany | Paderborn/Lippstadt | Paderborn Lippstadt Airport | |
| Germany | Saarbrücken | Saarbrücken Airport | |
| Germany | Stuttgart | Stuttgart Airport | |
| Germany | Weeze | Weeze Airport | Terminated |
| Hungary | Budapest | Budapest Ferenc Liszt International Airport | Seasonal |
| Iraq | Erbil | Erbil International Airport | Seasonal |
| Ireland | Dublin | Dublin Airport | |
| Israel | Tel Aviv | Ben Gurion Airport | Seasonal |
| Italy | Milan | Milan Malpensa Airport | |
| Italy | Rome | Rome Fiumicino Airport | Seasonal |
| Kosovo | Pristina | Pristina International Airport | Seasonal |
| Lebanon | Beirut | Beirut–Rafic Hariri International Airport | Seasonal |
| Moldova | Chișinău | Chișinău International Airport | Terminated |
| Netherlands | Amsterdam | Amsterdam Airport Schiphol | |
| Netherlands | Eindhoven | Eindhoven Airport | Seasonal |
| Netherlands | Rotterdam | Rotterdam The Hague Airport | Seasonal |
| North Macedonia | Skopje | Skopje International Airport | |
| Norway | Oslo | Oslo Gardermoen Airport | Seasonal |
| Poland | Katowice | Katowice Airport | |
| Poland | Warsaw | Warsaw Chopin Airport | Seasonal |
| Romania | Bucharest | Henri Coandă International Airport | |
| Russia | Saint Petersburg | Pulkovo Airport | Terminated |
| Slovenia | Ljubljana | Ljubljana Airport | Terminated |
| Spain | Madrid | Madrid–Barajas Airport | Seasonal |
| Sweden | Gothenburg | Göteborg Landvetter Airport | Terminated |
| Sweden | Stockholm | Stockholm Arlanda Airport | Seasonal |
| Switzerland France Germany | Basel Mulhouse Freiburg | EuroAirport Basel Mulhouse Freiburg | |
| Switzerland | Geneva | Geneva Airport | Seasonal |
| Switzerland | Zürich | Zurich Airport | |
| Turkey | Adana | Adana Şakirpaşa Airport | Terminated |
| Turkey | Adana/Mersin | Çukurova International Airport | |
| Turkey | Ankara | Ankara Esenboğa Airport | |
| Turkey | Antalya | Antalya Airport | Hub |
| Turkey | Bodrum | Milas–Bodrum Airport | Seasonal |
| Turkey | Bursa | Yenişehir Airport | |
| Turkey | Dalaman | Dalaman Airport | Seasonal |
| Turkey | Diyarbakır | Diyarbakır Airport | |
| Turkey | Elazığ | Elazığ Airport | |
| Turkey | Eskişehir | Hasan Polatkan Airport | |
| Turkey | Erzurum | Erzurum Airport | |
| Turkey | Gaziantep | Gaziantep Oğuzeli Airport | |
| Turkey | Hatay | Hatay Airport | Terminated |
| Turkey | İzmir | İzmir Adnan Menderes Airport | Hub |
| Turkey | Kars | Kars Harakani Airport | |
| Turkey | Kayseri | Erkilet International Airport | |
| Turkey | Konya | Konya Airport | |
| Turkey | Kütahya | Zafer Airport | Seasonal |
| Turkey | Malatya | Malatya Erhaç Airport | |
| Turkey | Samsun | Samsun-Çarşamba Airport | |
| Turkey | Sanliurfa | Şanlıurfa GAP Airport | |
| Turkey | Sivas | Sivas Airport | |
| Turkey | Trabzon | Trabzon Airport | |
| Turkey | Van | Van Ferit Melen Airport | |
| Turkey | Zonguldak | Zonguldak Airport | Seasonal |
| Ukraine | Kyiv | Boryspil International Airport | Terminated |
| United Arab Emirates | Abu Dhabi | Abu Dhabi International Airport | |
| United Arab Emirates | Dubai | Dubai International Airport | |
| United Kingdom | Birmingham | Birmingham Airport | |
| United Kingdom | Bristol | Bristol Airport | |
| United Kingdom | Edinburgh | Edinburgh Airport | |
| United Kingdom | Glasgow | Glasgow Airport | Begins 4 April 2025 |
| United Kingdom | Leeds/Bradford | Leeds Bradford Airport | Seasonal |
| United Kingdom | Liverpool | Liverpool John Lennon Airport | Begins 6 April 2025 |
| United Kingdom | London | Gatwick Airport | |
| United Kingdom | London | Luton Airport | |
| United Kingdom | London | London Stansted Airport | |
| United Kingdom | Manchester | Manchester Airport | |
| United Kingdom | Newcastle upon Tyne | Newcastle International Airport | |
| Uzbekistan | Samarqand | Samarkand International Airport | |

### Codeshare agreements

* Austrian Airlines
* Lufthansa

### Interline agreements

* Eurowings
* United Airlines

## Fleet
### Current fleet

As of January 2025, SunExpress operates an all-Boeing 737 fleet composed of the following aircraft:
| Aircraft | In service | Orders | Passengers | Notes |
| Boeing 737-800 | 55 | — | 189 | |
| Boeing 737 MAX 8 | 17 | 53 | 189 | Option for 45 additional aircraft. |
| Boeing 737 MAX 10 | — | 17 | TBA | Option for 45 additional aircraft. |
| Total | 72 | 70 | | |

### Historic fleet

SunExpress had also operated the following aircraft types in the past:
Former SunExpress fleet :
| Aircraft | Total | Introduced | Retired |
| Boeing 737-300 | 4 | 1990 | 2002 |
| Boeing 737-400 | 3 | 1993 | 2004 |
| Boeing 737-700 | 12 | 2000 | 2015 |
| Boeing 757-200 | 4 | 2005 | 2011 |