Sun Country extends cargo deal with Amazon through 2030

Sun Country Airlines is extending its cargo agreement with Amazon through 2030, the Minneapolis-based carrier announced Thursday.

The move, executives said, will help grow the company’s revenue and increase Sun Country’s cargo fleet from 12 to as many as 20 aircraft.

Sun Country has been delivering Amazon packages since 2019, providing pilots, flight crew, maintenance and insurance services on behalf of the e-commerce behemoth. Amazon owns the Boeing 737 aircraft Sun Country operates under the Prime Air brand.

Through the extension, Sun Country will take on up to eight additional cargo aircraft beginning in early 2025. The amended deal includes the option to further extend the terms through 2037.

The partnership has been unique from the start. When it began, Sun Country called it a first for a scheduled service passenger airline, and resulted in it hiring 20% more pilots in 2020, as well as more maintenance and operation support staff.

Sun Country’s cargo business was fortuitously timed, helping bridge the airline’s finances through the early months of the pandemic when demand for commercial air travel plummeted.

“Amazon is an extremely important customer to Sun Country and strong execution on our current cargo services positioned us well to grow our business. We look forward to continuing to provide services to Amazon into the 2030s,” Jude Bricker, Sun Country’s CEO, said in a statement.

In the initial deal in 2019, Amazon subleased 10 Boeing aircraft to Sun Country. The two companies also entered into an investment agreement where Amazon had the option to purchase up to 15% of the airline’s stock. No additional stock warrants were issued with the amendment.

A Sun Country spokesperson said the airline will continue to hire and train pilots, but for maintenance jobs, they expect the growth to occur outside of its hub at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. The airline is assessing expanding its maintenance hiring at other locations, the spokesperson said.

Sun Country’s cargo revenue, which consists solely of flying cargo aircraft under its agreement with Amazon, generated $99.7 million in 2023, up 10.4% compared to 2022. Cargo operating expenses, however, were $103 million in 2023, a nearly 15% increase over the year before.

For the first quarter this year, the airline’s cargo revenue of $24 million marked a 2.5% increase compared to a year ago.