Josh Cahill is no stranger to surprising airline experiences, but his latest video — titled This German-Turkish Airline SURPRISED ME! — puts a carrier most aviation fans have barely considered under the microscope. Flying the route from Cairo International Airport (CAI) to Leipzig/Halle Airport (LEJ), Cahill puts SunExpress — the joint venture between Turkish Airlines and Lufthansa — through its paces, delivering a verdict that is equal parts warm and withering. This marks the first time Cahill's channel has ever covered SunExpress, making it a genuinely fresh data point for anyone weighing budget options between Egypt and central Germany.
The Route and the Airline
SunExpress is a leisure carrier co-owned by two aviation heavyweights: Turkish Airlines and Lufthansa. That dual parentage is precisely what makes the airline intriguing — and what likely drew Cahill to book the flight in the first place. Operating between Cairo International Airport and Leipzig/Halle Airport, the airline connects Egypt's bustling capital with one of Germany's lesser-celebrated but strategically important hubs. Cahill has previously covered EgyptAir out of Cairo on multiple occasions — most recently with a mixed review of their new business class — and has also flown Eurowings into Leipzig/Halle, so the route geography is familiar territory for the channel.
The video also references Turkish Airlines, Pakistan International Airlines, Lufthansa, and Yemenia as part of the broader context — airlines Cahill has reviewed or compared in the same video window. Notably, this is also the first time Cahill has covered Yemenia on his channel, adding yet another rare carrier to his ever-expanding roster.
The In-Flight Experience: Highs and Lows
The headline finding from Cahill's SunExpress review is a classic aviation paradox: the people are great, the product is not. From the moment he stepped on board, the crew made an impression — and Cahill was clearly not expecting it.
I was super happy and surprised to receive a very lovely welcome at the door by one of the many great crew members of this airline.
That warmth at the door set a positive tone, and Cahill's formal claim on the crew — rated positive — reflects genuine appreciation for the cabin staff's attitude and professionalism throughout the flight. For a leisure carrier operating a niche route out of Cairo, that's no small thing.
However, the catering told a very different story. Cahill's assessment of the food quality was blunt and unambiguous: the meal was dry, below average, and a clear weak point for an airline that carries the DNA of two major full-service carriers. His tip for future passengers is equally direct — if you're flying SunExpress, consider pre-purchasing a meal rather than relying on whatever is served on board. It's the kind of practical advice that separates a flight reviewer from a travel influencer.
Legroom was the third major pain point. Cahill described the seat pitch as cramped and uncomfortable — a familiar complaint on leisure carriers that prioritise capacity over passenger comfort. For a flight connecting Cairo to Leipzig, which is not a short hop, tight legroom is a meaningful drawback for taller travellers or those on longer connections.
Verdict and Context
Cahill's overall verdict on SunExpress lands firmly in mixed territory: the crew earns genuine praise, but the catering and legroom drag the experience down. It's the kind of review that will resonate with budget-conscious travellers who are willing to trade comfort for price — but who should go in with eyes open about what they're getting.
For context, Cahill has covered Turkish Airlines extensively over the years — with 17 prior videos on the carrier — and his most recent Turkish Airlines review, The Secret Turkish Airlines Business Class, delivered a mixed verdict that praised catering and service while criticising legroom. Noel Philips also reviewed Turkish Airlines' A350 product approximately one year before this video was published, offering a similarly mixed take. Meanwhile, Cahill's Lufthansa coverage is equally deep — his most recent Lufthansa review, Lufthansa's DISASTER NEW First Class is actually AWESOME!, published just three weeks before this video, was a glowing endorsement of the carrier's new first class cabin. That makes the SunExpress review all the more pointed — when you're co-owned by an airline Cahill just called world-class, a dry meal and cramped seats hit differently.
The Cairo International Airport to Leipzig/Halle Airport route remains an underserved corridor in the aviation content world, and Cahill's willingness to document it — complete with honest assessments of a carrier that rarely makes headlines — is exactly the kind of coverage that makes his channel valuable to real travellers. SunExpress may have surprised him with its crew, but it still has work to do before it can claim to be a worthy heir to its two illustrious parent airlines.
