National airline South African Airways (SAA) is extending its partnership with Turkish-based SunExpress by leasing four Boeing 737-800 aircraft with cockpit and maintenance crew for the peak summer season and into April next year.
The deal, which is over a six-month period and effective from November, also covers the busy Easter holiday period in 2025. SAA confirmed the partnership with SunExpress on Monday.
SunExpress is a joint venture between Turkish Airlines and Germany’s Lufthansa.
“Building on the successful first year of partnership, SunExpress will now double its leased fleet to SAA,” the SA carrier said in a statement.
“The first aircraft will start operations in November 2024. This will boost SAA’s capacity by an average of 20 daily flights, totaling 134 weekly flights across three routes, ensuring broader connectivity and greater travel options,” it added.
“We are delighted to confirm the expansion of our partnership with SunExpress to accommodate additional aircraft for our peak season,” said SAA interim CEO Professor John Lamola.
“The additional aircraft will go a long way towards meeting increased demand during the peak end-of-year holiday season. The partnership also helps SAA better manage the global aircraft availability challenge,” he said.
The leasing deal will increase SAA’s competitiveness in the local market and coincides with the airline’s expansion of its regional African and international connections.
Earlier this month, the airline confirmed plans to increase the frequency of flights to Mauritius, Perth in Australia and continental African destinations, including Harare, Lusaka, Accra and Lagos.
According to SAA, the agreement with SunExpress further commits to enhancing collaboration through a specialised training programme for SAA cabin crew members.
“The training programme will deepen collaboration between South African crew members and their SunExpress counterparts. Training will take place at the headquarters of SunExpress in Antalya, Turkey and at the SAA headquarters in Johannesburg,” it said.
“We are excited to expand our partnership with SAA and build on the successes of our first year together,” said SunExpress CEO Max Kownatzki.
“Doubling our leased fleet to SAA marks a significant step in managing seasonality as we continue to grow our fleet. The dedicated training we provide to SAA underscores our shared vision of operational excellence and reflects our willingness to leverage more opportunities together.”
