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| Founded | July 2, 1982; 42 years ago (1982-07-02) | ||||||
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| Commenced operations | January 20, 1983; 42 years ago (1983-01-20) | ||||||
| AOC # | SCNA220K[1] | ||||||
| Operating bases | Minneapolis/St. Paul | ||||||
| Frequent-flyer program | Sun Country Rewards | ||||||
| Fleet size | 57 | ||||||
| Destinations | 172[2] | ||||||
| Parent company | Sun Country Airlines Holdings | ||||||
| Traded as | Nasdaq: SNCY S&P 600 Component | ||||||
| Headquarters | Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States | ||||||
| Key people | |||||||
| Revenue |  US$894 million (2022) | ||||||
| Operating income |  US$56 million (2022) | ||||||
| Net income | US$18 million (2022) | ||||||
| Employees | 2,500 | ||||||
| Website | suncountry | ||||||
Sun Country Airlines is anultra-low cost airline in the United States. Based atMinneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport with headquarters on airport property, Sun Country operates to about 140 destinations in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean. The airline also has significant charter operations and is a contract cargo operator forAmazon Air.[3]
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Sun Country was incorporated on 2 July 1982.[4] It received its certificate of public necessity and convenience from theCivil Aeronautics Board on January 17, 1983.[5] The company began offering charter service and the first revenue flight was on January 20, 1983 fromSioux Falls toLas Vegas, using a Boeing 727 aircraft leased fromAir Florida.[6][7] The airline's original staff consisted of sixteen pilots, sixteenflight attendants, three mechanics and one office person. A number of the original employees had previously worked forBraniff International Airways, which ceased operations on May 12, 1982.[8][9] The company's founder and first President/CEO was Captain Jim Olsen, who also acted as Chief Pilot. His wife, Joan Smith-Olsen, acted as Chief Flight Attendant and Head of Inflight Operations.[10]
In 1988, its headquarters were located on the grounds of theMinneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport.[11] In 1995, Sun Country began offering scheduled flights from Minneapolis to several major cities throughout the United States. In 2001, the company suspended operations due to financial troubles.[12] In July 2006, the airline was acquired byPetters Group Worldwide and Whitebox Advisors.[13]
Following the replacement of interim CEO Jay Salmen by Stan Gadek, former CFO ofAirTran Airways, Sun Country was nearly finished by themajor recession of 2008 and the revelation that Petters Group Worldwide was operating a massive financial fraud, a $3.25 billionPonzi scheme.[14][15] The airline furloughed 45 of its 156 pilots and scaled back its summer schedule due to rising fuel costs. Sun Country indicated it had hoped to get up to $50 million in loans or other financial help from the state of Minnesota and the airports commission.[16] In September 2008 the carrier reduced, and in some cases eliminated, flights toSan Francisco andLos Angeles. It also began charging for the first checked bag.[17] At the end of September 2008, Gadek called for a 50% pay-deferral to all remaining employees.Tom Petters resigned after anFBI probe discovered that the airline had suffered financial fraud on a massive scale.[14][18] Following this, the airline filed forChapter 11 bankruptcy protection for the second time, on October 6, 2008.[19]
In July 2011, Sun Country was bought out of bankruptcy for $34 million by the Davis family, owners ofCambria, a Minnesota-based countertop company.[20][21] Marty Davis, CEO of Cambria, became chairman.
In 2015, the Sun Country board hired Zarir Erani as president and CEO.[22] The airline had a net income of $27 million in 2015, followed by a 41% drop to $16 million in 2016.[22]
In July 2017, after more than a year of missed monthly earnings projections, Davis replaced Erani as interim President and CEO, with Erani moving to other duties within the Davis family of companies.[22] Jude Bricker, previously ofAllegiant Air, was appointed as CEO one week after Erani stepped down.[23] As part of its strategy, Sun Country had begun to move towards being a "no frills" airline.[24]
On December 14, 2017, the Davis brothers announced they would be selling the airline to funds affiliated with New York BasedApollo Global Management for an undisclosed amount.[25]
On December 17, 2019,Amazon Air bought a minority stake in Sun Country from Apollo, with plans for the airline to operate cargo flights under the Amazon Air brand.[3] As Sun Country's passenger model is heavily leisure focused, this deal is designed to help stabilize revenues during non-peak seasons. In December 2019 Sun Country announced they would begin operating cargo flights forAmazon. Sun Country will initially operate ten cargo jets forAmazon Air.[26] The airline operated their first cargo flight for Amazon in May 2020.[27][28]
On March 17, 2021, Sun Country became publicly listed and traded on theNASDAQ under the ticker SNCY.[29]
As of June 2024, Sun Country's cargo fleet operated under contract with Amazon Air has grown to 12 airframes. On June 20, 2024, Sun Country and Amazon Air announced an extension to their contract out to 2030. Under this new contract, Amazon Air will transfer an additional 8 737-800BCF aircraft to Sun Country, increasing the airline's cargo fleet to 20 airframes.[30]
Recent key figures for Sun Country Airlines Holdings, Inc. (which include the passenger operations of Sun Country Airlines and its cargo business forAmazon Air) are (years ending December 31):
| 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue ($m) | 202 | 239 | 308 | 361 | 410 | 518 | 560 | 197 | 385 | 701 | 401 | 623 | 894 | ||
| Net profit after tax ($m) | 1 | 11 | 4 | 15 | 2 | 2 | 27 | 16 | 28 | 25.9 | −0.4 | 46 | −3.9 | 81.2 | 17.7 |
| Number of employees (at year end) | 1,312 | 1,889 | 1,549 | 1,532 | 1,699 | 2,181 | 2,510 | ||||||||
| Number of passengers (m) | 1.6 | 1.9 | 1.8 | 2.5 | 2.6 | 3.6 | 1.7 | 2.7 | 3.6 | ||||||
| Passenger load factor (%) | 70 | 72.6 | 80.2 | 78.5 | 80.4 | 82.4 | 82.5 | 64.9 | 74.7 | 83.5 | |||||
| Number of aircraft (at year end) | 19 | 26 | 30 | 31 | 43 | 48 | 54 | ||||||||
| Notes/sources | [31] | [31][32] | [31] | [31] | [31] | [33][34][31] | [22][33][34] | [22][33][35][36] | [37] | [a][37] | [37] | [b][37] | [38] | [38] | |
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Sun Country previously offered two classes of service with First Class and Economy seats, but when the airline was sold to Apollo Global Management, they changed the airline to an ultra-low-cost carrier with aircraft operated in an all-economy configuration. Sun Country now offers three variations of economy seats: Best, Exit Row, and Standard.[39][40]
Sun Country Rewards, the airline'sfrequent-flyer program, was established in November 2018, and replaced an older program calledUfly.[41] In 2023, Sun Country was named the best low cost carrier inNorth America at theParis Airshow's World Airline Rankings.[42]
| Rank | Airport | Passengers | Market share (%) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota | 1,425,100 | 10.11% |
| 2 | Las Vegas, Nevada | 172,180 | 0.73% |
| 3 | Fort Myers, Florida | 154,740 | 2.98% |
| 4 | Orlando, Florida | 143,120 | 0.66% |
| 5 | Phoenix, Arizona | 138,130 | 0.64% |
| Other markets | 999,460 | 0.13% |
As of January 2024[update], Sun Country Airlines flies to 81 destinations and operates more than 100 routes throughout theCaribbean, United States, Canada, Mexico and Central America.[44][45] Many Sun Country destinations are seasonally served as demand grows and falls throughout the year.
The airline additionally provides charter service for theUnited States Armed Forces[46] andNCAA football teams.[47] The airline has provided charter service toMajor League Soccer teams since 2020 and became the league's official carrier in 2022.[48] Sun Country has a number of casino charter contracts.
Sun Country also hasinterline agreements with the following airlines:[49]
_Boeing_737-84P(BCF)_N7901A_approaching_JFK_Airport.jpg)
As of January 2025[update], Sun Country Airlines operates an all-Boeing 737 Next Generation fleet composed of the following aircraft:
| Aircraft | In service | On order | Passengers | Notes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| F | Y+ | Y | Total | ||||
| Passenger fleet | |||||||
| Boeing 737-800 | 43 | — | – | 30 | 156 | 186 | |
| 1 | — | 76 | – | – | 76 | VIP charter configuration. | |
| Boeing 737-900ER | 1 | 4 | TBA | First aircraft was delivered second-hand fromOman Air in 2024.[50] | |||
| Cargo fleet | |||||||
| Boeing 737-800BCF | 12 | 8 | Cargo | Aircraft operated forAmazon Air.[51] | |||
| Total | 57 | 12 | |||||
| Aircraft | Total | Introduced | Retired | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boeing 727-200 | 42 | 1983 | 2002 | |
| Boeing 737-700 | 9 | 2008 | 2023 | |
| McDonnell Douglas DC-10-10 | 6 | 1993 | 1998 | |
| McDonnell Douglas DC-10-15 | 4 | 1994 | 2001 | |
| McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30F | 2 | 1995 | 1997 | Leased fromGemini Air Cargo. |
| McDonnell Douglas DC-10-40 | 1 | 1986 | 1991 | Transferred toNorthwest Airlines. |
