This article is published in Air Transport World part of Aviation Week Intelligence Network (AWIN), and is complimentary through Aug 24, 2026. For information on becoming an AWIN Member to access more content like this, click here.
SunExpress Boeing 737 MAX-8.
FARNBOROUGH—Improvements in Boeing’s delivery performance mean that German-Turkish leisure carrier SunExpress will not need to wet-lease additional capacity this summer, CEO Marcus Schnabel says.
The carrier, a JV between Lufthansa and Turkish Airlines, has a heavily seasonal traffic flow, and delivery delays of Boeing 737 MAX-8s in recent years have led to the company buying in extra summer capacity.
“Wet lease used to fill in some gaps in the delivery pipeline,” Schnabel told ATW while attending the air show. However, “Deliveries have stabilized quite a bit.”
SunExpress has a large order book of 132 MAX-family aircraft (87 firm), with 28 MAX-8s already delivered and the ability to upgrade an unlimited number of undelivered examples to the larger MAX-10 if required. The airline also has around 60 737-800s in its fleet.
No firm decision has yet been made on acquiring -10s, although Schnabel favors the larger variant, which can seat up to 230 passengers in single-class configuration. However, the CEO wants to learn more about the soon-to-be-certificated version before deciding whether to opt for it.
Schnabel is “very confident” there will be no further delays on -8 deliveries. He was scheduled to meet Boeing executives just a few hours after talking to ATW, to be updated on the situation.
SunExpress is trying to mitigate its highly seasonal traffic through encouraging more passengers to travel in the year’s spring and autumn ‘shoulder seasons,’ partly by emphasizing Turkeys lesser-known attractions like golf and even skiing: “Not many people know that Turkey is one of the nicest ski areas of the world,” he said.
The war in Iran has led to passengers becoming hesitant to book vacation flights, especially to Türkiye, and fuel prices spiked. But Schnabel said demand had largely returned, with figures for July and August looking “quite strong,” although passengers are booking closer to their departure dates than before the war.
Related Content
