Sun Country adds 7 new destinations from Minneapolis/St. Paul

Sun Country Airlines announced a major network expansion at its main base, Minneapolis/St. Paul International Airport (MSP), adding seven connections and resuming four other routes. It will also extend ticket sales through September 2022, allowing travelers to book to more than 70 destinations for the northern hemisphere summer season.

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Sun Country Airlines will add the following links:

Destinations	Frequency	Starting date
Buffalo/Niagara (BUF)	Thursdays and Sundays	June 9, 2022
Burlington (BTV)	Thursdays and Sundays	June 16, 2022
Charleston (CHS)	Thursdays and Sundays	April 7, 2022
Jacksonville (JAX)	Fridays and Mondays	April 8, 2022
Pittsburgh (PIT)	Thursdays and Sundays	June 2, 2022
Spokane (GEG)	Thursdays and Sundays	June 9, 2022
Vancouver (YVR), Canadá	Thursdays and Sundays	June 15, 2022

 

The airline would resume the following connections:

Destinations	Frequency	Starting date
Nueva Orleans (MSY)	Mondays Thursdays, Fridays, and Sundays	April 7, 2022
Asheville (AVL)	Thursdays and Sundays	Year-round
Savannah (SAV)	Thursdays and Sundays	April 7, 2022
Milwaukee (MKE)	Thursdays and Sundays	June 2, 2022

 

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«We are excited to offer travelers affordable access to new destinations, including some of the most beautiful coastal cities on the East Coast and in Canada. We look forward to welcoming passengers aboard to enjoy our onboard entertainment, complimentary non-alcoholic beverage service, and comfortable reclining seats on to their next vacation», said Grant Whitney, Sun Country’s Chief Revenue Officer.

Sun Country Airlines, an airline focused on just one city

Most U.S. airlines are known for having several bases around the country, but Sun Country has only one base of operations at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, serving the Midwest and the state of Minnesota.

See also: Sun Country Airlines to operate new routes to Cancun and other Caribbean destinations

Minneapolis has more than 70 connections to the United States, the Caribbean, Canada, Central America, and Mexico, several of which only operate during the winter or summer seasons. It has a fleet of 34 Boeing 737-800s configured for 186 passengers.

The company was born in 1983 with several former employees of the former Braniff International Airlines. Sun Country’s founder and first president was also one of the airline’s captains, Jim Olsen, and his wife served as a flight attendant and head of in-flight operations.

Since its beginnings they have provided service to the Midwest, with Minneapolis as its hub, operating as a leisure-focused airline, hence its name, Sun Country.

In the 2000s the company was on the verge of bankruptcy. The 2001 post-World Trade Center attacks crisis, the 2008 economic crisis, and a financial fraud revelation meant that for several years the company failed to take off as in its golden days.

After several changes, in 2017 it was sold to Apollo Global Management after going through a restructuring starting in 2011 that led it to a low-cost model by the current CEO, Jude Bricker.

See also: The story of how a small US airline remained profitable during the crisis.

Primer Air, an Amazon company operated by Sun Country. Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons by Adam Moreira. Sun Country made the news in 2020 after being one of the few airlines to report a profit despite the healthcare crisis, thanks to a contract signed in 2019 with Amazon Air to carry cargo with a dozen Boeing 737-800BCFs. While the company is mostly focused on leisure destinations, the deal was tailored to help stabilize revenue during off-seasons.

The company keeps quietly growing and rebuilding wherever it finds opportunities. From being on the verge of disappearing to turning profitable in times of crisis, Sun Country proved to be able to take off.