SunExpress Forced Me to Pay for Seat Selection During Online Check-In

I purchased a ticket through ETS Tour for my SunExpress flight from Izmir to Cork scheduled for May 23, 2026. Today, when I tried to complete online check-in, the system did not offer any free seat selection option at all. In order to continue the check-in process, I was forced to choose a paid seat. The “continue” button would not work unless a paid seat was selected, and the system constantly redirected me back to the extra paid services screen.

I feel seriously mistreated because every single seat, including the very last rows, was marked as paid, with the cheapest available seat costing approximately $9. Despite contacting customer service for assistance, no meaningful solution was offered to me.

I request that my free online check-in right be restored without forcing me to pay extra seat fees and that I receive a proper explanation regarding this practice.

In addition, both the company’s website and application are extremely poorly designed and frustrating to use. For example, the account I created just one hour earlier kept saying my password was incorrect, and when I attempted to reset it, I continuously received error messages. Reaching customer service requires waiting on hold for around 15 minutes, and when an agent finally answers, they ask for additional information but abruptly end the call if you take even a short moment to check your documents, saying that other customers are waiting.

I also previously experienced another issue at the airport where I was unexpectedly charged extra during check-in because of a so-called “new rule.” At that time, when I explained that I would complete online check-in instead, I was told that online check-in had already closed, and I was again forced to pay an additional fee per passenger. I believe airline companies’ increasing greed and excessive extra charges for basic services need to be seriously addressed.