Jim Olsen lost his job as a pilot when his employer, the storied Braniff International, folded in 1982. Soon after, he and other Minnesota-based Braniff pilots and flight attendants started their own airline and called it Sun Country.
At 40, Sun Country Airlines sees clear skies ahead
What with multiple owners and two restructurings, Sun Country has seen a lot in four decades. Today, it's the price-setter at MSP.
September 13, 2022 at 9:41PM
On Tuesday, Olsen joined about 200 Sun Country employees to commemorate the 40th anniversary of an airline that — with 42 planes and about $1 billion in annual sales — still is relatively small but with an outsized influence on travelers at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport.
"I don't think that Delta likes it, but on the routes we fly side by side with them, the fares are more reasonable than what you might find to a city that only Delta flies to and Sun Country does not," said Olsen, referring to Delta Air Lines, the dominant carrier at MSP.
Sun Country has been through several ownership changes and two trips through bankruptcy restructuring. The first came after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks disrupted air travel. The second was in 2008, after then-owner Tom Petters was arrested on fraud-related charges related to another business he owned.
Marty and Mitch Davis, the Mankato-based billionaires whose business holdings include dairy farms and the Cambria countertop maker, purchased the airline out of bankruptcy in 2011.
Jude Bricker, the chief executive the Davises hired in 2017, gave them credit for creating the stability that led the airline to be sold to an investment firm and, last year, to get listed on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange
"The beginning of our current phase started with the Davis brothers buying us out of receivership and the company's been expanding ever since," Bricker said.
Bricker came from no-frills Allegiant Air in June 2017. At Sun Country, he's overseen the diversification of its business model across scheduled passenger service, charter and cargo flights. Sun Country also started buying its own planes and updated its livery in 2018.
Delta Air Lines was the top carrier for passenger market share last year with 72%, followed by Sun Country with 10%, according to Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport data. American, Southwest and United rounded out the top five, with smaller percentages.
A six-year agreement with Amazon announced in 2019 to fly packages around the country helped Sun Country endure the pandemic. A five-year agreement to provide charter service to Major League Soccer teams across North America, including Minnesota United, also is part of the diversification strategy.
This year, Sun Country's revenue is up about 30% as demand for air travel surged. But the workforce shortage facing the travel industry kept Sun Country from meeting demand, creating service difficulties during holiday surges.
Bricker said the airline is hiring and training pilots and mechanics for busier months ahead and expects 20% growth in scheduled passenger service next year.
"What we're doing now is working so well that the best thing we can do now for growth is to keep doing what we're doing," he said.
Sun Country's 40-year history
Fall 1982: Twin Cities investors back a group of former Braniff pilots and flight attendants to launch Sun Country.
January 1983: Sun Country flies its first route
Spring 1997: Travel entrepreneur Bill La Macchia Sr. of Milwaukee buys Sun Country
December 2001: Airline ceases flying and files for bankruptcy protection after Sept. 11 attacks created travel recession.
January 2003: Key assets bought by a local investor group. Flights restarted in April.
November 2006: Acquired by Petters Group Aviation, led by investor Tom Petters.
October 2008: Petters is arrested on fraud-related charges unrelated to the airline. Sun Country files for Chapter 11 protection to isolate its finances from Petters.
July 2011: Mitch and Marty Davis acquire Sun Country for $34 million in an auction staged by its bankruptcy trustee.
July 2017: Sun Country names Jude Bricker as CEO.
December 2017: Davis brothers sell Sun Country to Apollo Global Management of New York.
December 2018: The airline unveils a Boeing 737 that is the first it purchased rather than leased.
December 2019: Amazon signs Sun Country to a six-year agreement to fly its cargo
February 2021 - Sun Country lists common stock on Nasdaq under the symbol SNCY
October 2021 - Sun Country signs five-year charter agreement with Major League Soccer teams, including Minnesota United
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