preview

Sun Country Airlines

Better Essays

Sun Country Airlines

Sun Country Airlines was started in 1982 by a small group of pilots and flight attendants in Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota. After Braniff shutdown in 1982, Ken Sundmark approached Bob Daniels, a cofounder of Mainline Travel Incorporated about forming a charter service that would combine the assets of Mainline and the airline expertise of the now unemployed Braniff crew. Eleven Braniff pilots, two cabin attendants, an attorney, and a financial consultant (Links to an external site.) shared 49 percent ownership and Mainline 's principle owners, retained the other 51 percent.

Sun Country Airlines was incorporated in July 1982 but implementation of service was delayed by higher than expected start-up costs. Sun Country 's inaugural flight was from Sioux Falls to Las Vegas. The company quickly became profitable. The headquarters were located in an old freight building. That space and the rented hanger had once been Braniff 's. Sun Country flew only flew one aircraft in the beginning, a Boeing 727-200.

During the early days, Sun Country employees had multiple roles to perform. Company executives flew aircraft. Flight attendants acted as receptionists and even baggage handlers when necessary. Pilots updated manuals and cleaned the company 's aircraft.

Sun Country was unlike other U.S. charter companies in that it depended primarily on vacation travel business, and was concentrated around the Midwest 's peak tourist season, January through mid-April. In

Get Access