Published by Raşit Eti on 10 June 2026 · Last updated 11 June 2026

If you've flown to the Turkish coast from the UK, there's a good chance you've flown SunExpress — even if you didn't notice the name on the tail.

SunExpress is a joint venture between Lufthansa and Turkish Airlines, built specifically around leisure travel, with its home on the Turkish Riviera in Antalya. It isn't a household name in Britain in the way some carriers are, but it has quietly become one of the leading leisure airlines between the UK and Ireland and Türkiye — and for summer 2026 it's growing again.

For a holidaymaker, the simple version is this: it's a dedicated holiday airline that flies you straight to the Turkish coast, often from your local airport, without connecting through a big hub. Here's what that means in practice.

Who is SunExpress?

SunExpress was founded in 1989 and is jointly owned by Lufthansa and Turkish Airlines, with more than 35 years of flying behind it. Its base is Antalya, the heart of the Turkish Riviera, and most of what it does is move holidaymakers between Europe and Türkiye's coasts, serving well over 100 destinations across more than 20 countries.

It positions itself as a value carrier rather than a full-service airline: the core fare gets you there, and you add the extras you actually want. Beyond the classic sun-and-beach trip, it also carries cultural, food and even sports travellers — but for British holidaymakers, it's first and foremost the airline that connects UK airports directly with the Turkish coast.

Where SunExpress flies from in the UK and Ireland

The UK and Ireland is one of SunExpress's most important markets, and it's expanding here for summer 2026. The airline plans to fly from 14 UK and Ireland airports, across around 30 routes and roughly 196 weekly flights — about 2.1 million seats, a 10% increase on the previous summer.

Several brand-new routes launch for summer 2026, adding more direct choice from regional airports rather than funnelling everyone through London:

These sit alongside SunExpress's existing UK network, so for many travellers the question is no longer "can I fly to Türkiye from near me?" but "which Turkish coast do I want?".

What SunExpress's team told us

We work with SunExpress closely, and we recently sat down with two of its senior people: Murat Hatipoğlu, the airline's Turkey Sales Manager and a colleague of ours for many years, who has been with SunExpress for over two decades; and Michael Schober, its Europe Seat-Only Sales Director. They were generous with their time and refreshingly straight about how the year has gone.

For summer 2026 they had planned flights from almost every UK airport. Like every airline, they've since had to adjust parts of that programme: wider tension in the Middle East, together with a sharp dip in demand across the region, meant a number of services were trimmed. That is a normal part of aviation — the risk in our industry is not always in our own hands, and outside events can move quickly.

Importantly, none of this changes the core picture for a Türkiye holiday: the flights to the Turkish coast keep running. Both Murat and Michael expect the wider situation to settle before long, and SunExpress is planning to bring back broadly the same UK programme for summer 2027. We took that as a strong signal of the airline's commitment to British travellers.

Which Turkish coasts you can reach

SunExpress flies into the airports that open up almost all of GoToBeach's Turkey programme. Where you land shapes the kind of holiday you'll have.

If you're not sure which coast suits you, our team is happy to talk it through before you book — that's rather the point of using a specialist.

The SunExpress fleet

SunExpress flies an all-Boeing 737 fleet — around 70 aircraft, and the airline describes it as one of the most modern in Europe. It splits between roughly 55 Boeing 737-800s and 15 newer 737 MAX 8s (which the airline calls the 737-8), each configured with 189 seats.

Maintenance is shared between SunExpress's own engineering teams and Lufthansa Technik and Turkish Technic — the technical arms of its two parent airlines. For a leisure carrier, that's a reassuring pedigree: a single, well-understood aircraft type kept to the standards of two of Europe's biggest airline groups.

What it's like to fly with SunExpress

SunExpress flies a modern fleet of Boeing 737-800 and newer 737 MAX 8 aircraft — standard, comfortable single-aisle jets for a flight of roughly four to four-and-a-half hours from the UK to Antalya, and a little less to some Aegean airports.

Fares and what's included

Like most leisure airlines, SunExpress sells fare bundles rather than one all-in price. Different bundles cover things like checked baggage, seat selection, check-in options and booking flexibility. The lowest fare is genuinely low, but it's worth checking exactly what's included — particularly your baggage allowance and whether your group's seats are together — and choosing the bundle that matches your trip.

Baggage — included when you book with us

This is one of SunExpress's biggest advantages, and one of the clearest reasons to book it through GoToBeach: with us, your checked baggage is included. With many airlines, hold luggage is a paid extra that can climb to around £80 per person by the time you've booked it — so "baggage included" makes a real difference to the final cost of a family holiday. (If you book flight-only directly with the airline, your allowance depends on the fare bundle you choose, so always check.)

Good news for golfers

SunExpress is a genuinely golf-friendly airline. It runs dedicated golf packages, even organises golf events for its trade partners, and is well used to carrying clubs to the fairways of Belek, Türkiye's golf capital. If you're flying out with a bag of clubs, that experience and that attitude matter.

Booking SunExpress: flight-only or as part of a package

You can book SunExpress directly as a flight-only ticket, or have a SunExpress flight included as the flying part of a package holiday. The difference matters for your protection.

When a SunExpress flight forms part of a flight-inclusive package booked with GoToBeach, your holiday is ATOL protected — GoToBeach is a trading name of Caria Holidays Ltd, which holds ATOL licence 11211. A flight-only ticket bought directly from the airline is a separate arrangement and isn't a GoToBeach package, so the protection is different. We'll always confirm the protection that applies before you pay.

On timing: for the best fares and the best choice of seats, book early — especially for school-holiday dates and the new 2026 routes, which tend to fill quickly in their first season.

And it isn't only a summer story. We build GoToBeach packages around SunExpress across both seasons — summer beach holidays on the Turkish coast, and genuinely interesting winter and shoulder-season escapes, including golf breaks to Belek when the fairways are at their best. Whatever time of year you want to travel, it's worth asking us what's available.

Frequently asked questions