Monday, January 22, 2007

SunExpress, Turkey's leading low cost scheduled airline that was founded as a joint venture by Lufthansa and Turkish Airlines, is to launch a new twice-weekly non-stop service on Thursday, 8 February 2007 between London Stansted and the picturesque city of Antalya on the Turkish Riviera.

SunExpress will operate between London Stansted and Antalya on Mondays and Thursdays. The flights depart from Stansted at 10.30 to arrive in Antalya at 16.30 local time. Services from Antalya will depart at 07.05 and arrive in Stansted at 09.30. Flight time is just four hours from Stansted to Antalya and 4 hours 30 minutes on the return leg.

In addition to the new Antalya service, SunExpress is to introduce a second route between the UK and Turkey in March. The second non-stop scheduled service will be between London Stansted and Izmir, Turkey's third largest city and second largest port, with a connecting service to Ercan in Northern Cyprus.

The new scheduled services offered by SunExpress between London Stansted and Turkey reflect the growing popularity and demand for Turkey as a destination in the UK, especially Antalya, the Turkish Riviera, Izmir and the resorts around the Aegean Sea, all of which have a special appeal to the increasing number of independent travellers and those with second homes in the area.

Antalya is also the gateway for Belek , Turkey's premiere golf resort. Located on the Mediterranean coast 30 km east of Antalya, Belek currently boasts five golf clubs with a further 11 courses and 44 hotels in various stages of construction, with a number programmed to open during 2007. Signature course designers include Nick Faldo, Colin Montgomerie and David Feherty.

SunExpress' schedule to Antalya will give UK golfers the all-year-round option to fly out on Thursday and return on Monday after a weekend of three full days of golf in the sun. Reflecting the sporting interest in Antalya and Izmir, SunExpress offers complimentary carriage of golf and diving equipment weighing less than 30 kilos

SunExpress, which made its first flight in 1989, boasts a young fleet with an average age of under 7-years and currently operates nine Boeing 737-800s and four Boeing 757-200s. It carried more than 2-million passengers in 2006. Besides the UK, SunExpress offers non-stop scheduled services between Turkey and over 20 destinations in Austria, Germany and Switzerland, as well as a domestic Turkish network serving nine destinations. The airline has an interline agreement with Lufthansa and a code-share agreement with Turkish Airlines. SunExpress, which also operates custom-made and full charters, moved its headquarters from Frankfurt to Antalya in 1990 and in 1996 Lufthansa's shares in SunExpress were transferred to Condor, the airline of the Thomas Cook Group.

Although considered a 'low cost scheduled carrier', SunExpress' product offer includes: free beverages and non alcoholic drinks; complimentary meal plus special dietary options; seat selection at check-in; newspapers; in-flight movie & audio entertainment; 20 kgs free baggage allowance; and golf and dive equipment carried free of charge up to 30 kgs.

In the UK bookings for SunExpress can be made through specialist Turkish travel agents and operators, on "www.sun-express.co.uk", or by calling 0845 600 1521.