Holiday airline SunExpress has ambitious expansion plans, but has supply and training issues to resolve first
This article first appeared in Low-Cost & Regional Airline Business March/April 2025 and it presented here as one of our ’12 Features of Christmas’ series.
We don’t have lie-flat first class with a compartment that closes up, but we have a spirit and a warm heart that you’ll feel in the cabin.” These are the words of CEO of holiday airline SunExpress Max Kownatzki, speaking to an audience of around 200 people from the tourism industry around the carrier’s base at Antalya in February.
He has every right to be in an ebullient mood. The airline, which is now 35 years old and a joint venture between Lufthansa and Turkish Airlines, has grown substantially from its days as a simple holiday airline ferrying tourists between bases in Europe and Turkey. Today it operates 200 routes across 35 countries and connects most countries in Europe with Turkey. It carries 1.5m passengers a year, with a split between seats booked by tour operators and those booked directly by passengers for point-to-point travel.
The airline has also won a Skytrax award for being the best holiday airline in Europe and has ambitious growth plans which involve flying to additional destinations, aided by an expanded fleet of up to 70 new MAX-8 and MAX-10 jets. However, there are several challenges that the airline will need to overcome to achieve this growth.
One-star ratings
While Skytrax is satisfied with the quality of the airline’s service, the travelling public, arguably a far more important jury, have not given SunExpress such a rapturous welcome. Currently the airline ranks 2.5 out of five on Tripadvisor and just 1.5 out of five on Trustpilot. Even on Skytrax’s own website the airline scrapes just four out of ten from passenger reviews.
The same complaint keeps coming up, namely a lack of coordination in dealing with problems when things go wrong. A lack of process to deal with lost bags, chaotic check-in counters and befuddling online operations have all conspired to make the airline unpopular with travellers.
Asked about the issue, Kownatzki comments that the airline has grown significantly over the past couple of years but adds, “Yes, our customer service has lagged. We’ve been very transparent about this and we do need to beef it up.”
He continues, “There is a second part which is that the expectation level and the volume at which these topics are voiced differs from country to country. We are seeing that UK passengers are more vocal, although that I’m not trying to shy away from the operational issues that we’ve had.”
Moaning Brits aside, Kownatzki also points to multiple air traffic control issues, both in Europe and in Turkey. “We’ve had significant delays which, coupled with high aircraft utilisation, had a ripple effect,” he explains.
“Last summer was like that. We’ve addressed this topic by creating a ‘Summer Task Force’, not only to avoid it happening in the first place, but also to have better customer communication.”
Apart from training staff to manage customer situations and to “humanise when irregularities happen”, Kownatzki also mentions that he has been looking at ways to automate cabin operations in a bid to bring further efficiencies on board.
Premium economy
‘Pure play’ low-cost carriers traditionally haven’t offered anything other than the seat and a few add-ons such as extra luggage and chargeable snacks on board. SunExpress has never described itself as such, preferring the term ‘holiday airline’, but with a no‑frills approach and an aircraft utilisation of 16.5 hours a day, it does not pretend to be a luxurious full-service carrier.
However, some traditional LCCs now offer a ‘premium’ experience for passengers that want to pay to upgrade. While this option is something that is being looked at “continuously”, offering extras is something Kownatzki is wary of.
“We need to be sure that we don’t loose the DNA that we have,” he states. “We have crew utilisation of 94% even in the wintertime. If we start changing things up, such as offering a lounge or a business class, you start diluting that, and there is an expectation to drive you into other service areas. That needs to be a conscious decision because it comes with a whole avalanche of cost.”
With that said, Kownatzki is aware that there are many passengers, and golfers in particular, that are able and willing to pay more for a better flight experience with packages that include a pre-booked hot meal onboard, extra legroom, priority boarding and carriage for the golf bag.
He says, “I believe that we have hit a good compromise between offering a more premium, more seamless offering while not diluting our low-cost production capability. I think that’s kind of the balance we’re trying to strike.”
Aircraft pipeline
The airline is one of a small number that has come out the other side of the pandemic and immediately expanded operations to a significantly higher level than before the crisis.
Plans have been made to expand still further, with scores of MAX jets on order to both update the existing fleet and to expand into new markets. However, the airline’s expansionist dreams are being hampered by the well-publicised problems at Boeing.
“We’re not happy with the delivery schedule, and you can quote me on that,” states Kownatzki. “Would we like Boeing to step up the delivery process? Yes, of course. But as you know, Boeing planned an output of about 64 Boeing 737s per month. There’s currently a cap in place of 38 aircraft. This cap by the FAA is also being upheld by the new FAA administrator under the Trump administration, so there’s no movement on this, but right now they are not even close to the 38-unit cap – output is in the twenties.”
For the record, Boeing plans to ramp up production of the 737 line to the FAA limit by mid-2025. However, there is a huge backlog to be worked through, with orders for over 5,500 aircraft valued at an eye-watering $435bn. This includes an order for 100 aircraft for SunExpress’s rival, Pegasus.
The airline currently has orders for 53 737 MAX-8 and 17 MAX-10 aircraft with options for 45 additional planes. “We are very happy with the aircraft and we have a trustful relationship with Boeing itself, so we’re on good terms with a very open dialogue and communication with the company on this topic,” Kownatzki concludes.
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