SunExpress Airlines & Palace's fan-designed aircraft takes to the skies
SunExpress Airlines, the joint venture of Lufthansa and Turkish Airlines, officially unveiled its fan-chosen Crystal Palace Football Club aircraft, ‘The Eagle’, at London Gatwick Airport today, marking a major milestone in its official airline partnership with the club.
The bespoke livery, chosen directly by Palace supporters, was revealed during a dedicated airside ceremony at Gatwick’s South Terminal. Senior representatives from SunExpress, Crystal Palace FC and Gatwick Airport were joined by media, stakeholders and Crystal Palace legend, Mark Bright, as the aircraft arrived at the gate in its new colours for the first time.
Earlier this year, SunExpress and Crystal Palace invited supporters of the club to vote between two specially created designs.
“The Eagle”, celebrating the club’s iconic crest and deep South London identity, won by a landslide with 87 percent of the vote. The campaign generated the highest engagement ever recorded for a Crystal Palace partner activation and ranked as the second most engaged online vote in the club’s history.
The Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft with the registration TC-SMF will now operate across the SunExpress network, including regular services from London Gatwick, as well as 11 other UK and Ireland airports in total from summer 2026, carrying Crystal Palace’s colours to destinations across Europe and Türkiye.
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Helmut Wölfel, Commercial Director at SunExpress Airlines, said: “We are incredibly proud to unveil ‘The Eagle’ at London Gatwick and to see the fans’ choice brought to life on one of our aircraft. Since its launch last year, this partnership has been about putting supporters at the heart of what we do and creating something that feels authentic to the club and its community. For SunExpress, the UK is a key growth market, and this aircraft is a visible demonstration of our long-term commitment to London and the wider UK, in continuing to build a strong presence here.”
Barry Webber, Chief Commercial Officer at Crystal Palace FC, said: “Seeing ‘The Eagle’ officially unveiled is a very visual demonstration of how exciting our partnership with SunExpress continues to be. We’re proud to have put our fans right at the centre of this activation; the scale of engagement around the vote was extraordinary and shows the strength of the Palace community. ‘The Eagle’ is a bold statement, not just about our identity as a South London club, but about the growing reach of Crystal Palace on an international stage and I’m very proud to see it take to the skies!”
In addition to ‘summer sun and beach’ travel, SunExpress caters for a number of other types of travel including cultural, archaeological, and culinary tourism, and sports travel.
SunExpress is a value carrier with a strong presence on the Turkish Riviera and in Anatolia. The airline operates in a total of 250 routes to 106 destinations across 37 countries.