Sun Country adds new California, New England destinations from MSP

Sun Country Airlines is offering two new coastal destinations for Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport travelers starting later this summer.

The Minneapolis-based carrier will begin offering direct flights to Monterey, Calif., and Manchester, N.H., starting Aug. 8.

Monterey, on California’s Central Coast, is home to a world-famous aquarium and a number of golf courses, including Pebble Beach. It’s also within a 2½-hour drive of the Bay Area and along the scenic Pacific Coast Highway.

Manchester, New Hampshire’s largest city, is 55 miles north of Boston and is a popular gateway to touring fall colors in the Northeast. It’s also about a 1½-hour drive to Portland, Maine.

Sun Country will offer flights from MSP to more than 100 destinations this year, giving “customers and community an unparalleled breadth of destinations for a leisure airline,” Grant Whitney, senior vice president and chief revenue officer, said in a news release Tuesday.

The airline will also offer limited service to Atlanta and Austin, Texas, starting in March as Sun Country makes use of charter-flight positioning.

Last fall, the low-cost carrier added 10 routes, including Toronto and Montreal, as well as seasonal flights to Montana, Idaho, New Mexico and elsewhere.

The second-busiest air carrier at MSP behind Delta, Sun Country aims to attract leisure travelers and has a sizable charter and cargo business. The company posted a record $1 billion in revenue last year and quadrupled its profits to $72 million.