SunExpress, South African Airways expand partnership

By Tuba Ongun

Turkish-German airline SunExpress and South African Airways (SAA) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to expand their partnership, according to a statement Tuesday.

The leisure carrier will support the operations of South Africa’s national carrier with four aircraft in the winter season of 2024-2025, said SunExpress.

The deal is an add-on to the current six-month damp lease agreement that was started in October and includes the lease of two Boeing 737-800s as well as maintenance and cockpit crew.

The two airlines are currently exploring the options for a multi-year reciprocal capacity support and further cooperation with regard to maintenance, training and commercial support, said the statement.

"Over the next decade, we will more than double our fleet, reaching a 150-aircraft fleet by 2033. These kinds of partnerships enable us to efficiently utilize our fleet, mitigating the impact of our seasonality," said SunExpress CEO Max Kownatzki.

SAA CEO John Lamola said: "The additional aircraft will support our operations to meet the growing customer demand during peak seasons and mitigate our management of the global aircraft availability crisis."

Within the scope of the current damp lease agreement, SunExpress aircraft are operating 12 domestic flights daily to Cape Town and Durban from Johannesburg.

As of Dec. 13, two daily connections from OR Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg to Chief Dawid Stuurman International Airport in Gqeberha, or Port Elizabeth, have been added.

Established in Antalya in 1989 as a joint venture of Lufthansa and Turkish Airlines, SunExpress flies to more than 175 destinations in 30 countries with a fleet of 66 aircraft.​​​​​​​