Signed and sealed: SAA signs MOU with SunExpress
South African Airways (SAA) and SunExpress have officially put pen to paper and signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to link up.
SAA AND SUNEXPRESS MAKE IT OFFICIAL
SunExpress, a joint venture between Lufthansa and Turkish Airlines, and SAA in October entered into a ‘damp’ lease agreement which allows SAA to operate flights using two SunExpress aircraft for a six-month period.
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Thereafter, in a press release, SAA said that the first of the two aircraft was received on Wednesday, 11 October 2023. The first of these aircraft began operations mid-October, and the second aircraft will have scheduled flights depending on the capacity demand by the airline.
Now, as of 14 December, the two carriers signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) in order to secure SAA’s lease of four aircraft in a multi-year, longstanding agreement to nurture relations between the two airlines, Travel News reports.
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John Lamola, Chief Executive of South African Airways, said that they were pleased with their relationship with SunExpress.
“This unique ACMI is a short-term tactical intervention in SAA’s fleet strategy, as we are working on the deployment of our long-term dry-leased four A320s. We are pleased with our relationship with SunExpress and are excited with its potential as we both manage the seasonality of passenger traffic in our respective geographic markets.” Lamola said.
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WHAT IS A “DAMP LEASE” AGREEMENT?
The “damp lease” agreement that South African Airways has entered into with SunExpress, refers to the provision of aircraft, its maintenance, and cockpit crew from the leaser (SunExpress), while the aircraft will still be served by the lessee’s (SAA) cabin crew to maintain South African Airway’s customer service standards.