SunExpress sees strong European demand for Turkey travel

SunExpress, a joint venture between Turkish Airlines and Lufthansa, will ramp up capacity to record levels this summer as European demand for flights to Turkey rebounds, its CEO said. Focused on Turkey’s Mediterranean and Aegean resorts, the carrier expects 9.1m passengers this year, up more than 50% from 2021, CE Max Kownatzki said. Antalya-based SunExpress offers flights mainly between Turkey and European countries and carried 6m passengers last year, with a 75% load factor. Kownatzki said this year would approach the pre-pandemic passenger numbers of 2019, and that the company would add 25 new routes and 16,250 flights. “The outlook despite COVID and despite the Russian invasion of Ukraine is very positive,” he said. “The tourist demand continues to be strong as the summer season approaches. In 2022, we aim to increase our capacity beyond 2019 pre-pandemic levels to coastal cities” including Antalya, Izmir, Dalaman and Bodrum,” Kownatzki said. Turkey, facing soaring inflation and currency depreciation, is aiming for $34.5b in tourism revenue this year. But Russia’s invasion of Ukraine could have an impact on tourism as Russians and Ukrainians are the country’s first and third biggest respective sources of visitors, based on Turkey’s tourism ministry data.<br/>