There is No Good Reason for These to be Separate Airlines

"For Sweden" (rallybeetle)
10/23/2019 at 20:52 • Filed to: Southwest Airlines, Southwest, Sun Country Airlines, Sun Country, Boeing 737, 737, Mergers

No one denies this

Photo source:

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DISCUSSION (24)

Eric @ opposite-lock.com > For Sweden
10/23/2019 at 21:14

Except that Sun Country is way better than Southwest and more fun.

For Sweden > Eric @ opposite-lock.com
10/23/2019 at 21:22

Well yeah, the Sun is a star, and Southwest is (maybe) a direction

f86sabre > For Sweden
10/23/2019 at 21:35

One comes with a good hot dish though.

For Sweden > f86sabre
10/23/2019 at 21:35

hot dish > bbq

WilliamsSW > For Sweden
10/23/2019 at 21:39

Oh wow so Sun Country retired their 727s?

Eric @ opposite-lock.com > f86sabre
10/23/2019 at 21:47

And cheeseburgers! That was so weird that it was extremely memorable.

For Sweden > WilliamsSW
10/23/2019 at 21:48

I think so

f86sabre > For Sweden
10/23/2019 at 22:13

Each has its place

SBA Thanks You For All The Fish > WilliamsSW
10/23/2019 at 22:23

Weird trivia— (Yeah, 727s long gone.) HOWEVER, Sun Country does “share” airplanes with a weird discount airline (obscure subsidiary of Air France) based in The Netherlands, called Transavia. Their peak demand is in the summer months flying pasty Northern Europeans to the South of Spain. and Sun Country’s is in the winter flying Minnersotahns to Florida and Arizona, so it’s kind of synergistic to move aircraft back and forth, depending on season.

It’s a little disorienting the first time you get on board one of the puke-green-interior Dutch planes, but it’s the same Sun Country flight crew.

https://corporate.transavia.com/en-NL/home/

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The Sun Country Airlines fleet consists of Boeing 737 Next-Generation airplanes. Seasonally, additional aircraft are leased between Transavia and Sun Country. During its slow summer season, Sun Country occasionally leases planes to Transavia and during Transavia’s slow winter season, the airline leases planes to Sun Country

Kinja'd!!!

Grindintosecond > For Sweden
10/23/2019 at 22:24

I deny it, because I work for one of them.

Sun Country is a totally different model than Southwest. In 2017 their new CEO came in from Allegiant and started implementing the exact same style of opertaion that Spirit/Frontier/Allegiant have used. The customers are hating it, but their belief is they will get over it. So there is a good reason they are totally different. “Bricker said he is focused on building the airline into a more sustainable business. He would like to get costs to near Spirit and Frontier levels, while providing a slightly better product so he can win a revenue premium against them.”

Ha. IF he can do that, then he is far better than Spirit and Frontier in planning. The issue is, Allegiant was pretty bad. Board members include folks with scumbag airline histories and at least one Valuejet guy, all bent on cheap, with a shitty experience, and trying to pay people as little as they can get away with.

SBA Thanks You For All The Fish > Eric @ opposite-lock.com
10/23/2019 at 22:25

Dunno. I fly Sun Country quite a bit, but prefer the seat pitch on SWA. And, no bag fees on SWA. And, no change fees on SWA.

The “extras” on Sun Country can add up fast.

Eric @ opposite-lock.com > SBA Thanks You For All The Fish
10/23/2019 at 22:28

I didn’t recall those, but I admit it has been a while since I flew with them. They left a lasting good impression of their airline and were among my many good impressions of the people of Minnesota .

SBA Thanks You For All The Fish > Eric @ opposite-lock.com
10/23/2019 at 22:34

I fly them out of LAX and LAS fairly often... usually great value-for-money on those leisure routes. A bargain if I don’t mind a middle seat and no carry-on bag.

They definitely are the best choice in a category dominated by Allegiant and Spirit and Frontier.

OTOH, SWA’s “no change fee” policy has been a lifesaver sometimes. Sun Country will gouge-you-like-Delta to change a ticket-- generally so much that it makes your original ticket worthless.

For Sweden > Grindintosecond
10/23/2019 at 23:10

but Southwest is desperate for NGs

WilliamsSW > Grindintosecond
10/23/2019 at 23:33

Shooting for a revenue premium from customers that only value price is a great strategy, if your primary goal is to achieve bankruptcy.

WilliamsSW > SBA Thanks You For All The Fish
10/23/2019 at 23:35

The 727 comment was a joke of course, but I could swear that the last Sun Country airplane I saw was a 727, it’s been that long. They don’t seem to have a presence in Chicago any more.

Pretty smart to share airplanes with Transavia.

Eric @ opposite-lock.com > SBA Thanks You For All The Fish
10/24/2019 at 00:17

What’s funny is that Allegiant is the extreme opposite end of the cheap carrier spectrum for me. It’s such an awful experience that it isn’t worth the savings to me. I’d rather pay more to not suffer that experience ever again.

I usually bought Sun Country tickets at the last minute, when changes were not going to happen.

SBA Thanks You For All The Fish > WilliamsSW
10/24/2019 at 01:34

Yeah, I wasn’t following Sun Country AT ALL when they had whatever sorta WOW-Air-esque near death experience, but they seem to have turned it around. And, thankfully, they avoided the whole MAX fiasco as they are 100% NG aircraft.

I sorta miss the 727s... they were solid, safe aircraft and I spent many pleasant hours in them. Hell, if the Vogons at Delta can still fly those obnoxious gas-hog Mad Dogs, why not bring a few 727s back out of the desert?

Side note: I took a Safari-Rally car out to El Mirage the other day and drove by Victorville’s storage yard. Man do they have the world’s supply of 747s stashed out there. Mojave has a bunch too, but nothing like V-ville.

SBA Thanks You For All The Fish > Eric @ opposite-lock.com
10/24/2019 at 01:36

Can’t argue there. I’ve had ‘OK’ luck on Spirit, but you meet the same people on Allegiant that you’d find on a Greyhound. And, sometimes that’s an adventure.

Stef Schrader > Grindintosecond
10/24/2019 at 13:17

Yeeeeeah, if you’re really gonna make a “merge!” hot take, Southwest should take over Sun Country, sounds like.

I’ve been pretty pleased with Southwest, cattle-call boarding and all. Usually a pretty clean plane, ample direct routes, OK leg room for what it is, and easy to call dibs on a window if you’re earlyish in the order.

For Sweden > Stef Schrader
10/24/2019 at 13:17

It’s a good take Stef

Grindintosecond > For Sweden
10/24/2019 at 16:05

no their not. Well, not until a carefully researched financial line has been crossed to trigger something else.

T5Killer > For Sweden
10/30/2019 at 14:52

Interesting I had never heard of Sun Country. Turns out they go everywhere around me but not into NM lol.

For Sweden > T5Killer
10/30/2019 at 15:01

That’s enough reason to ban the airline