SunExpress doubles Turkey capacity Ian Taylor
Leisure carrier SunExpress has almost doubled its UK capacity to Turkey this summer in a boost to operators and agents seeking flights. The airline, jointly owned by
Lufthansa and Turkish Airlines, has flown between Germany and Turkey for more than 30 years but only entered the UK in summer 2022. However, it has expanded from operating 74 weekly flights from the UK last year to 136 this summer, increasing seat capacity by 87% to 1.32 million. SunExpress carried 700,000
passengers from the UK last year, with 40% booked through tour operators. The remaining capacity is
SunExpress
It offers 80 flights a week to Antalya, 39 to Dalaman, 15 to Izmir, and one each to Adana and Gaziantep. Max Kownatzki, SunExpress
chief executive, said the tour operator segment of the business “has grown” and explained: “We don’t do individual deals [with operators], but if you buy more seats, you get a bigger discount.” He told Travel Weekly: “We
mostly seat only, sold direct, but the airline is bookable via GDSs. The carrier has also expanded
the number of UK airports it serves. Having launched from Birmingham, Edinburgh, Gatwick, Luton and Manchester in 2022, it added Bristol and Newcastle for summer 2023 and Leeds Bradford and Stansted this year.
Inspiring women wanted for Intrepid Morocco fam trip
Andrew McQuarrie
Intrepid Travel is inviting female agents on a fam trip to Morocco in a bid to help the trade capitalise on growing numbers of female solo travellers. The small group operator has
reported that nearly 50% of its customers are solo travellers, with about 70% of them being women. The fam trip will see 10 agents
visit the High Atlas mountains in September, led by adventurer and TV presenter Alice Morrison. Hazel McGuire, Intrepid’s
general manager for the UK and 6 18 APRIL 2024
Ireland, described the trip as a “really great sales opportunity” because of the growing interest in solo travel among women. She added: “Alongside the fam
trip, we’re putting together a sales toolkit, which will help agents get in front of this customer base.” Agents can apply for a place
on the fam trip by submitting an inspirational story about themselves on the Intrepid Loves Agents Facebook page under the post ‘Good Stories Start Here’. “We’d like agents to tell us about
a time when travel has allowed them to push themselves out of their
consider ourselves a value carrier, not low cost”, and suggested: “The combination of Turkish hospitality with German thinking has made the company successful.” SunExpress will operate a fleet of
77 aircraft this summer, 10 more than last year when it carried 12.6 million passengers across its network, and expects to carry 15 million this year.
Kownatzki plans to operate 100 aircraft by 2028 and 150 by 2035. Despite being half-owned by
Turkish Airlines, 90% of SunExpress revenue is generated in the EU and 75% in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. The airline operates a wholly
Boeing fleet, but Kownatzki dismissed concerns about safety following the mid-air blowout of a door plug on a Boeing 737 Max-9 aircraft in January. SunExpress does not operate the Max-9. However, Boeing aircraft deliveries have been delayed following the incident. Kownatzki acknowledged “any
delay to deliveries before summer would affect us badly” but said: “We’ve secured all the aircraft we need for this year.”
Alice Morrison
comfort zone,” said McGuire. “It doesn’t need to be about climbing Everest – it’s about something that’s important to them.” The five-night trip follows the
success of the operator’s Women’s Expeditions range, which launched in 2018 and recorded a 164% rise in bookings globally between 2022-23. “People came out of Covid wanting
to experience things – particularly that slightly older demographic,” said McGuire. “Perhaps there was nervousness before, but now they want to seize the day.”
Zina Bencheikh, managing
director for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, said Morocco is one of Intrepid’s most in-demand destinations and that the Atlas Mountains area had recovered “very fast” from last year’s earthquake. She added: “For Morocco to fully
recover, we need tourists. That’s what will continue to make the difference and help people get back to work and to normal life.” McGuire said the fam trip would
show agents that Morocco is “well and truly open”.
travelweekly.co.uk
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