Crossing the generations: SunExpress and Lufthansa Technik sign five-year agreement for engine MRO

SunExpress Airlines, a joint venture of Turkish Airlines and Lufthansa, has entrusted Lufthansa Technik with comprehensive engine MRO (Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul) services for its large fleet of Boeing 737s. The respective five-year contracts were signed yesterday at the airline’s headquarters in Antalya. They encompass legacy CFM56-7B engines powering SunExpress’s Boeing 737-800s as well as latest-generation CFM LEAP-1B* engines used on the airline’s fast-growing subfleet of Boeing 737-8 aircraft.

Over the next five years, SunExpress will entrust powerplants of both generations to Lufthansa Technik’s engine services facilities in Hamburg, Germany. These highly specialized workshops will take care of a broad spectrum of work scopes ranging from smaller repairs via quick turns up to complete overhauls and performance restoration shop visits. The first engines covered by the new agreement are planned to be inducted in Hamburg during the first quarter. Upon request, Lufthansa Technik’s joint-venture XEOS in Poland can also be employed to provide extra capacity for services on SunExpress’s engines.

“This strategic partnership reinforces our commitment to maintaining the highest standards of reliability and performance across our Boeing 737 fleet,” said Cemil Sayar, Chief Operating Officer at SunExpress. “By covering both our legacy CFM56-7B engines and the latest-generation LEAP-1B engines, the agreement supports our fleet development while ensuring high-quality MRO services. We greatly value Lufthansa Technik’s proven expertise and look forward to continuing our close cooperation in the years ahead.”

“The rollover to the latest-generation types such as the LEAP-1B engine is progressing steadily, but its venerable CFM56-7B predecessor is also still going strong and creating demand for MRO capacity. Thus, we are pleased that we can offer SunExpress our enormous expertise for both generations of Boeing 737 powerplants,” said Harald Gloy, Chief Operations Officer at Lufthansa Technik. “I’d like to thank our valued customer for its trust in our services and look forward to this new chapter in our journey together.”

The new long-term engine services contracts build on the mutual trust gained during a thorough negotiations and cooperation process between both parties and a first singular engine services cooperation: In 2024, Lufthansa Technik performed both engine shop level troubleshooting support and an Engine Performance Restoration on one of SunExpress’ CFM56-7Bs. A further field of collaboration between the airline and the global MRO provider is the support with Consumables and Expendables (C&E). SunExpress also uses the leading Maintenance & Engineering software AMOS, which is part of Lufthansa Technik’s Digital Tech Ops Ecosystem.

_{* Lufthansa Technik is a Premier MRO provider for CFM LEAP-1A and LEAP-1B engines licensed by CFM International, a 50/50 joint company between GE Aerospace and Safran Aircraft Engines.}