The Braniff/Sun Country Connection

You've spotted a Sun Country Boeing 737 at the airport and wondered "What's this Sun Country Airlines"?  Maybe its the deep blue fuselage or the Sun Country "S" in a lighter shade of blue emblazoned on the forward fuselage. A vivid orange Sun Country logo on the tail completes the theme with pizzazz.  It harkens back to the deep Mercury Blue  colors of the Ultra look.

After the shutdown of Braniff in 1982 a small group of Braniff employees led by Captain Jim Olsen approached local Twin Cities tour operator MLT Vacations about dedicating a Boeing  727-200 to the tour operators leisure destinations.  Previously the tour operator had  occasionally utilized a Braniff 727-200 overnighting at the MSP station for charters to leisure destinations. In June of 1982 a agreement was signed with MLT Vacations owning 51% of the new airline Sun Country with the pilots and flight attendants owning the remainder.  An Air Florida 727-227 Advanced aircraft  that had been destined for delivery to BN as 484BN was secured for the initial start-up.

Sixteen pilots, Sixteen flight attendants, three mechanics and one office person formed the new airline Sun Country.  The companies first flight was January 30, 1983 from Sioux Falls to Las Vegas.  The employees wore many hats in the early days of the company.  Flight attendants stocked liquor kits and prepared meals while pilots updated manuals and assisted in catering.  All the group assisted in cleaning the aircraft exterior and interior. On time performance was 98% the first year thanks to the young age of the aircraft and good mechanics.  Sun Country was profitable after six (6) months of operation.  No debt was accumulated in the succeeding years as the company financed all growth from internal funds.

A slow and deliberate expansion through the  80's meant steady profits for the company.  In 1986 the company put into service its first wide body aircraft,. a 380 seats DC10-40 leased from Northwest Airlines.  The aircrafts intercontinental range enabled the company to fly international charters and also accommodate demand on the heavily traveled MSP-LAS route.

Sun Country also provides ad-hoc charter lift to civic organizations, corporations, sports teams or virtually any group that wants to charter an aircraft.  Sun Country became a member of the CRAF (Civilian Reserve Air Fleet) in 1989. Many charters were flown  in  support of the Desert Storm effort in 1990-91. 130 of the company's employees were recognized for their efforts by the Air Force.

Buoyed by record profits of $9.7 million  for the fiscal year ended June 30, 1991 the airline acquired more 727 and DC10 aircraft. New tour operators were brought onboard with an emphasis on flying from the Midwest to Las Vegas, Florida, Mexico and the Caribbean.

As the scheduled airlines became more sophisticated in managing their seat inventories in the late 90's the demand for charter flying by the tour operators fell off.  In 1999 Sun Country made its first foray into scheduled flying with mixed results.  Competing head-on with the local incumbent carrier Northwest resulted in losses for the company and the events of 9/11 meant a precipitous drop in traffic and revenue.  The company closed its doors on December 07, 2001.

A new group of investors and a new management team were brought in to restart the airline. Those first months in 2001 harkened back to the beginning days of Sun Country in 1982 and the "Can Do" spirit of the company's work force.  Today Sun Country flies a brand new fleet of Boeing 737-800's equipped with 12 First Class seats and 150 Coach seats upholstered in leather.

Without hesitation,  Jim Olsen.,  COO at Sun Country and Braniff 727 Captain will tell you Sun Country was born on May 12, 1982.  Braniff's demise was also the beginning of a new enterprise. The builders of Sun Country tenures at Braniff laid the groundwork for Sun Country Airlines.  The heart of Braniff lives on today at Sun Country.

For your next travel plans, why not consider Sun Country. Beautiful, blue Boeing 737-800's and friendly personnel are ready to welcome you onboard. For reservations and more information call 800-359-6786 or Sun Country's web site at www.suncountry.com.

Matt McPhee began his airline career with Braniff ll in 1988. He joined Sun Country Airlines in 1992 and now serves as Group/Charter Sales Representative at the company's MSP headquarters.

For more information on the history of Sun Country Airlines see the following periodicals:

AIRLINERS Issue # 74  March/April 2002 "Sunset for Sun Country Airlines.
AIRLINERS Issue # 88  July/August 2004 "Sun Country Rising"