South African Airways, SunExpress sign MoU to enhance partnership


(MENAFN) SunExpress, a Turkish-German airline, and South African Airways (SAA) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to enhance their partnership, as stated on Tuesday.

SunExpress will assist South Africa's national carrier during the winter season of 2024-2025 by providing support with four aircraft, according to the leisure carrier.

This agreement extends the existing six-month damp lease arrangement that commenced in October, encompassing the lease of two Boeing 737-800s along with maintenance and cockpit crew services.

The two airlines are currently exploring options for a multi-year reciprocal capacity support, along with potential collaboration in areas such as maintenance, training, and commercial support, as mentioned in the statement.

"Over the next decade, we will more than double our fleet, reaching a 150-aircraft fleet by 2033. These kinds of partnerships enable us to efficiently utilize our fleet, mitigating the impact of our seasonality," stated SunExpress Chief Executive Officer Max Kownatzki.

SAA Chief Executive Officer John Lamola declared: "The additional aircraft will support our operations to meet the growing customer demand during peak seasons and mitigate our management of the global aircraft availability crisis."

Under the existing damp lease agreement, SunExpress aircraft are currently conducting 12 domestic flights daily to Cape Town and Durban from Johannesburg.

Starting from December 13, two additional daily connections have been introduced from OR Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg to Chief Dawid Stuurman International Airport in Gqeberha, also known as Port Elizabeth.

Founded in Antalya in 1989 through a joint venture between Lufthansa and Turkish Airlines, SunExpress operates flights to over 175 destinations in 30 countries, utilizing a fleet of 66 aircraft.

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