• Order includes up to 180 LEAP-1B engines

WEST CHESTER, Ohio – Leading leisure carrier SunExpress, a joint venture between Turkish Airlines and Lufthansa, announced a commitment to order up to 180 LEAP-1B engines to power up to 90 Boeing 737-8 and 737-10 aircraft announced at the Dubai Airshow on November 13.  The airline will also purchase spare engines to support the fleet.

SunExpress has been a CFM customer since it launched services in 1989.  The all-737 operator owns a fleet of 49 737-800s powered by CFM56-7B engines and 11 737-8s with 33 aircraft still to be delivered from a previous order in 2014.

“This new order is part of our ambitious growth strategy (and) the reliability, fuel efficiency, low carbon emissions, and the support we expect with the LEAP-1B engines are integral to implementing that strategy.”

Max Kownatzki, CEO of SunExpress

“This new order is part of our ambitious growth strategy. We plan to more than double our fleet to 150 aircraft over the next decade to meet demand and expand our global footprint,” Max Kownatzki, CEO of SunExpress said. “The reliability, fuel efficiency, low carbon emissions, and the support we expect with the LEAP-1B engines are integral to implementing that strategy.”

“SunExpress has always been an impressive airline with its growth and it has been our privilege to be a part of this team from the very beginning,” said Gaël Méheust, president & CEO of CFM International.  “We understand the role we play in helping it execute this long-term strategy.  We are more committed than ever to keeping our promises so that SunExpress can realize its promise for the future.”

The advanced CFM LEAP engine family provides 15 to 20 percent better fuel consumption and lower CO2 emissions, as well as a significant improvement in noise compared to previous generation engines. Since its entry into service in 2016, the LEAP engine has allowed our customers to save more than 28 million tons of CO2*.