Turkish/German carrier SunExpress named world's best leisure airline

ANKARA

SunExpress, a joint venture of flag carrier Turkish Airlines and Germany's Lufthansa, has been named the World's Best Leisure Airline in the World Airline Awards handed out by international air transport rating agency Skytrax in London.

Boasting international flights to Turkish tourist draws such as the coastal gems of Antalya, Izmir, Dalaman, and Bodrum, SunExpress on Friday picked up the top leisure airline award for the first time.

The awards, seen as the aviation industry Oscars, are based on online surveys of more than 14 million customers from over 100 nationalities from September 2021 to this August.

“We always put our customers at the heart of what we do, and we work hard to deliver the very best experience possible to them at every touchpoint, every day," Max Kownatzki, SunExpress’ CEO, said in a statement on Saturday.

Also in the awards, Turkish Airlines got the highly competitive Best Airline in Europe honor and Qatar Airways was chosen as the World’s Best Airline for the seventh time.

Based in Türkiye's coastal resort of Antalya, SunExpress flies to more than 175 destinations in over 30 countries.