SunExpress

Stand at a German airport in summer and sooner or later you will see a SunExpress 737 lift off toward Antalya. The airline is a fixture of vacation traffic – and more interesting than its reputation as a “Turkey flyer” suggests. Two big network airlines stand behind SunExpress, the fleet is in the middle of the switch to the 737 MAX, and every now and then a special livery turns up. Here you learn how to recognize SunExpress with confidence and tell its aircraft apart cleanly.

SunExpress at a glance

SunExpress is a Turkish leisure airline based in Antalya. The company was created in 1989 as a joint venture of Turkish Airlines and Lufthansa, which each still hold half. The first aircraft took off in 1990 – a single Boeing 737-300. That small start has grown into one of the most important airlines between Germany and Turkey: in 2024 SunExpress carried around 15 million passengers, and according to industry reports the figure rose by about seven percent in 2025.

At first SunExpress was a pure charter airline. In 2001 the first scheduled service between Antalya and Frankfurt followed – making it the first private Turkish airline to offer international scheduled flights. In 2006 SunExpress opened a base in Izmir and began domestic Turkish flights. After the attempted coup in Turkey in 2016, which hit tourism hard, the airline expanded its connections to Anatolia in the following years and broadened its footing as a result.

Today SunExpress has three bases: Antalya, Izmir and Ankara. From there it flies to many airports in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and other European countries. Since October 2023, Ercan in northern Cyprus has also been part of the network, served from Izmir.

Codes and callsign

• IATA code XQ: appears in the flight number, so on the departure board, on the ticket and in timetables.
• ICAO code SXS: appears in the air traffic control flight plan and on most flight trackers.
• Callsign SUNEXPRESS: how the crew identifies itself on the radio.

Because SunExpress has codeshares with Lufthansa, Eurowings, Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines and TUI Airways, a SunExpress flight can also be sold under a partner flight number. On the departure board you then see several numbers for the same departure. For you as a spotter, what counts is who actually operates the aircraft – and the ICAO code SXS in the tracker tells you. Why there are two code systems is explained in the article IATA and ICAO codes explained.

Between Lufthansa and Turkish Airlines

The ownership structure is what sets SunExpress apart from other leisure airlines. Two network airlines from two countries share the company, and both are members of Star Alliance. SunExpress itself, however, does not belong to the alliance. The airline mainly sells direct flights to Turkey and complements its parents’ networks instead of competing with them.

For the German market, the Lufthansa side brings a close connection to Eurowings and the other airlines of the Lufthansa Group. In the Turkish market, SunExpress competes alongside Turkish Airlines as well as Pegasus Airlines and Corendon Airlines. You often see these four airlines at German airports in the same time window – so it pays to tell them apart.

Airline	Typical pattern	ICAO code	Business model
SunExpress	Boeing 737-800, 737 MAX 8	SXS	Leisure airline, joint venture of Lufthansa and Turkish
Turkish Airlines	Airbus and Boeing, short- to long-haul	THY	Network airline with hub in Istanbul
Pegasus Airlines	mostly Airbus A320neo family, plus Boeing 737	PGT	Low-cost carrier
Corendon Airlines	Boeing 737	CAI	Leisure airline

SunExpress Deutschland: a closed chapter

Between 2011 and 2020 there was a separate German subsidiary. SunExpress Deutschland was founded in June 2011, had its headquarters in Frankfurt and began flight operations in November 2011. Its aircraft carried German registrations, and the company flew under its own codes (IATA XG, ICAO SXD, callsign “SUNRISE”). The aircraft were stationed in Frankfurt, Düsseldorf, Cologne/Bonn, Hanover, Munich and Stuttgart, among other places.

The fleet was intriguing: besides Boeing 737-800s, SunExpress Deutschland also operated Airbus A330-200s, which flew long-haul routes for Eurowings. In June 2020 the company ceased flight operations, and some routes went to SunExpress and to Eurowings. For spotters this means: photos of SunExpress aircraft with a German D- registration are archive material today – anyone who has some owns a small piece of aviation history.

The fleet: Boeing 737s only

SunExpress flies only Boeing 737s. A large part of the fleet is still the Next Generation, but the share of 737 MAX grows every year. According to trade press reports, the fleet looked like this in mid-2026:

Type	Number (mid-2026)	Seats	Spotter tip
Boeing 737-800	around 60	189	The backbone of the fleet, CFM56 engines
Boeing 737 MAX 8	just under 30	189	New generation, deliveries continue
Boeing 737 MAX 10	part of the order	still open	Longest 737, not yet in service

The Boeing 737-800 was long the backbone of SunExpress. In 2010 the airline took delivery of six brand-new 737-800s and introduced a new logo and a new livery at the same time. The Boeing 737 MAX 8 has been joining for a few years now: in 2025 SunExpress received five new aircraft, and in January 2026 four more, which were ferried to Antalya.

In November 2023 SunExpress announced a further order at the Dubai Airshow: firm orders for 28 Boeing 737 MAX 8s and 17 of the larger 737 MAX 10s, plus options on up to 45 more aircraft of the MAX family. The goal at the time: a fleet of around 150 aircraft by 2033. According to trade press reports from summer 2026, SunExpress can switch aircraft not yet delivered to the MAX 10, but a final decision on the larger version was still pending at that point. The manufacturer of all types is Boeing.

Deliveries did not always go according to plan. Because Boeing in recent years has been able to deliver fewer aircraft than promised, SunExpress leased aircraft complete with crews from other airlines in some summers – a classic wet lease. For summer 2026 the airline stated in July that it no longer needs additional capacity of this kind. For you this is an important hint: if an aircraft in another airline’s livery flies under an XQ flight number, a lease like this is probably behind it.

737-800 or 737 MAX 8? How to tell them apart

At SunExpress both types have the same seat count and a similar livery. Unlike the more densely seated 737-8200 of Ryanair, an extra exit does not help you here. You have to look at the technology.

The winglets are not a reliable feature, because many 737-800s were retrofitted with split winglets that resemble those of the MAX. The most reliable clue is the serrations on the engines – you can see them even on a landing from a greater distance when you shoot from the side with a telephoto lens. More tricks for identifying types are in the guide Identifying aircraft types for beginners.

How to recognize SunExpress

The branding relies on dark blue and orange: the “SunExpress” titles are in dark blue, with an orange accent. These colors also shape the livery of the aircraft, whose current design goes back to the 2010 branding. Because the fleet consists only of 737s, the combination of type, colors and registration quickly gives a clear answer.

A sure sign is the registration: SunExpress aircraft are registered in Turkey and carry the prefix TC-. Corendon Airlines and Pegasus also have TC- registrations – there the livery and type help you. How country prefixes work is explained in the articles Understanding aircraft registrations and Country codes on aircraft.

The special liveries are particularly interesting for collectors. SunExpress has repeatedly painted aircraft with motifs from film, sports and advertising, as well as anniversary liveries – for example for the 20th birthday in 2010 and for the 35th anniversary on a 737 MAX 8. One well-known special livery is worn by TC-SMF, in the colors of the English football club Crystal Palace. How to find such aircraft deliberately is shown in the article Finding special liveries.

Spotting SunExpress in Germany

Germany is a central market for SunExpress. Besides vacationers, many people with family in Turkey use the direct flights. That is why the airline flies not only to the coast at Antalya, Izmir or Dalaman, but also to Ankara and to cities in the interior. In its summer 2025 schedule SunExpress served numerous airports in German-speaking countries, including Berlin, Frankfurt, Munich and Vienna.

You have good chances at the big spots: at the visitors’ hill in Munich, at the Zeppelinheim viewing platform in Frankfurt, on the observation deck at BER, at the Affenfelsen in Hamburg or on the observation deck in Düsseldorf. In Austria the spotters’ hill in Vienna is worthwhile. Which connections an airport offers at any time changes from season to season, though – a look at the current schedule saves you an empty trip.

SunExpress has a pronounced seasonal rhythm. Between spring and fall the schedule is much denser, especially on weekends during the school breaks. In winter many routes are thinned out. If you want to experience the Turkey wave at the airport, it is best to plan your spotting day for a Saturday in the summer break.

Before you head to a spot, it is worth checking the wind. It decides from which direction the aircraft approach – and therefore which side of the field you should stand on. How to judge the direction is explained in the guide to the runway direction in use at airports. And because arrival times are spread across the day, the article on the sun position at your photo spot helps you choose the right side.

Common mix-ups

• Thinking SunExpress is a Lufthansa subsidiary – Lufthansa holds only half; the other half belongs to Turkish Airlines.
• Counting SunExpress as part of Star Alliance – the owners are members, SunExpress itself is not.
• Confusing SunExpress with Corendon – both fly Boeing 737s with TC- registrations; the livery and the ICAO code (SXS versus CAI) set them apart.
• Trying to identify the 737 MAX 8 by its winglets – retrofitted 737-800s have similar winglets, the engines are what counts.
• Treating SXD and SXS as the same – SXD was SunExpress Deutschland, which has not flown since 2020.
• Assuming an XQ flight number means a SunExpress aircraft – under a wet lease, another airline’s aircraft can operate the flight.

Conclusion

SunExpress is the leisure airline that connects Germany and Turkey most closely – backed by Lufthansa and Turkish Airlines, but with its own brand and no alliance. The fleet is compact and uniform, yet in the middle of the generational shift from the 737-800 to the 737 MAX. If you look at the engines, note registrations and keep an eye on the special liveries, you get more out of every SunExpress sighting than just another tick in the logbook.