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In 1982, a group of pilots and flight attendants from the defunct
Braniff International banded together to form their own airline
with the help of businessmen in the twin cities of Minneapolis/St. Paul,
MN. This group named their venture Sun Country Airlines. They
partnered with locally based MLT Vacations and exclusively operated
charter flights, initially flying from Sioux Falls to Las Vegas.
Sun Country had 33 employees that acted as jacks-of-all-trades in
the early days. Flight attendants prepared meals and stocked beverages
while pilots updated manuals and assisted in catering. They were a
tight-knit bunch who loved putting in the required time to help their
company succeed. The fruits of their labor appeared in the first year,
producing profits after only six weeks and on-time performance of 98%.
The next few years brought success and colorful stories to Sun
Country. The airline took up residence in a hangar, flew to
destinations like Oslo, Norway, became a member of the Civil
Reserve Air Fleet and flew military charters to Saudi Arabia
and Bahrain. Sun Country enjoyed record earnings of $9.7 million in
1991, and the airline doubled its fleet and workforce.
Sun Country experienced the ups and downs that accompany both growth
and the airline industry over the next few years. On June 1, 1999 the
airline became a scheduled carrier. Although passenger loads were good,
the increased expenses that come with scheduled service were difficult
to cover. Price wars hurt the airline, and by 2000 Sun Country had lost
$62 million. The terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 were yet
another blow to the airline. On December 8, 2001, Sun Country announced
it was ceasing scheduled operations and shut its doors completely a few
days later.
Shortly thereafter, both national and Twin Cities-based investors
banded together to form MN Airlines and purchased the Sun Country name
and assets while the old Sun Country remained in bankruptcy court.
After scheduled flights began in spring 2002, Sun Country began to
recapture the hearts of Minnesotans. The airline began flying to
core destinations such as Denver, Los Angeles and Orlando, and has
continued to grow, adding destinations including Washington, D.C. and
New York. Sun Country was also ranked as the third-best domestic
airline in Travel+Leisure’s 2006 World’s Best Awards.
As Sun Country grew, additional capital was needed for expansion. Two Twin
Cities firms, Petters Group Worldwide and Whitebox Advisors, joined together to
acquire the airline. The acquisition was finalized on October 31, 2006 and has
positive implications for the airline. Although expansion plans weren’t
detailed, the new owners stated that they plan on adding aircraft to the Sun
Country fleet to add depth to the current schedule in addition to new destinations.
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