Turkish leisure airline SunExpress says it needs to prepare better for flights to the UK. This after, alcoholic beverages ran out 25 minutes into a flight with UK passengers.
UK PASSENGERS
According to TTG, a golfing charter flight operated by SunExpress for a UK-based group of golfers ran out of alcohol in just 25 minutes.
While this pattern of consumption may not be representative of the average UK holidaymaker, British passengers are known to enjoy their alcohol when travelling.
ALCOHOL SALES
SunExpress chief executive Max Kownatzki said that the airline would have to prepare better for UK flights by carrying increased supplies of items requested by passengers.
“We sold out of beer and wine 25 minutes after departure; we haven’t done that in any other market.”
SunExpress, Chief Executive, Max Kownatzki
Nonetheless, the airline welcomes the revenue generated from sales of these beverages on its flights.
Kownatzki says British travelers display “more high-spend, more hedonistic” behaviour patterns than other markets.
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SUN EXPRESS
SunExpress is relatively unfamiliar to the UK trade or consumers even though the airline was established in 1989 as a 50/50 joint venture between Lufthansa and Turkish Airlines.
Initially, it did not make huge inroads in the UK market. However, Kownatzki says there is indeed a good opportunity to expand the airline’s services in the UK.
The UK is SunExpress’s fourth largest market after Germany, Austria and Switzerland,
SUNEXPRESS UK OPERATIONS
In 2022 SunExpress launched flights from Birmingham, Edinburgh, Gatwick, Luton, and Manchester before adding Bristol and Newcastle to its network the following year.
The airline carrier carried around 700,000 UK passengers last year and expects this to rise to 1.3 million this year.
SUNEXPRESS UK FLIGHTS
Data from aviation analytics company Cirium shows that Sun Express will operate up to 136 weekly flights from the UK this August.
The carrier operates flights from nine UK airports: Birmingham, Bristol, Edinburgh, Leeds Bradford, London Gatwick, London Luton, Manchester, Newcastle and London Stansted.
It will fly to four destinations in Turkey: Antalya, Dalaman, Gaziantep and Izmir.
