Sun Country Airlines pilots approve new contract

Sun Country Airlines pilots on Tuesday approved a new contract that gives them a significant pay increase and an improved scheduling model for the airline's future growth.

Of the 361 eligible voters, 331 voted in favor of the agreement reached earlier this month by its union, the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA), and the Twin Cities-based carrier.

Besides raises of 35% to 45% on average in the first year, the pilots will get some improvements to work rules. The airline got some leverage to recruit pilots.

"This is a pivotal moment in time for the future of Sun Country Airlines," said Jude Bricker, Sun Country's chief executive. "This new agreement will help us evolve and grow the airline, which is beneficial to our customers, all of our team members, and our community."

Will Outlaw, a spokesman for the pilots' union, said Sun Country pilots have been the lowest paid in the industry and the raises bring them in line with their peers.

"I'm super excited," he said. "It's what this company needed to execute its business plan to grow and to attract and retain pilots."

The pay range on average for a 737 captain will be $190,000 to $264,000 per year based on seniority versus $120,000 to $230,000 under the old contract, Outlaw said. For a first officer, it will be $78,000 to $173,000. Under the previous contract, that range was $52,000 to $140,000. The contract includes incremental raises.

By the fourth year of the contract for the most senior captains, the pay rates are above Delta Air Lines' rates for 737s, Outlaw said. Sun Country only flies Boeing 737s for its commercial, cargo and charter flights.

Atlanta-based Delta — which is the dominant airline at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport — currently has the industry's highest pay for 737 pilots and is in negotiations with its pilot group for a new contract.

The Sun Country contract will go into effect Jan. 1, but some provisions around new scheduling practices will be implemented by a joint working group of the company and union throughout next year, Outlaw said.

Sun Country and the pilots' union agreed last year to postpone negotiations because of the pandemic. This year's negotiations moved much quicker than the previous contract. It took five years of start-and-stop negotiations before pilots signed a contract in 2015.

Sun Country was then owned by brothers Mitch and Marty Davis, who own countertop manufacturer Cambria. Before that contract was reached, pilots had approved a strike authorization after working under an expired contract for five years.

The Davis brothers sold the airline in 2018 to Apollo Global Management, a New York investment firm that took Sun Country public earlier this year.