Sun Country is a Minnesota-based airline, well-known in the leisure travel market. Passengers tend to have mixed reviews about this airline; some talk about it in high regard, while others have nothing but complaints. Let’s put that debate to an end by discussing both the pros and cons of Sun Country Airlines. 

I flew with Sun Country Airlines just a few months ago in the holiday season, and I noticed a lot of things worth talking about. Here’s an honest and authentic review of my travel experience with Sun Country Airlines. 

Pros of Flying with Sun Country Airlines

After my first time with Sun Country Airlines, these are the things that I would regard as “pros” of choosing them.

Budget Airline

As a budget-conscious traveler and a digital nomad, the first thing I look for in any airline is its affordability. As an ultra-low-cost carrier, Sun Country Airlines provides great deals and cheap fares, making air travel accessible for a wider pool of the population. Since they focus on leisure travel, it’s a great thing that they are budget-friendly. People who can’t afford to spend hundreds of dollars on traveling can still reach their holiday destination and have an amazing time with their loved ones.

Sun Country has a la carte business model. This means that the base fare is only for the seat and a small personal item, while everything else is “optional”. If you choose to skip the ancillary services (such as seat selection), then you can save a lot of money! In fact, their “additional fees” for optional services are a lot less thantheirs peers, such as Spirit and Frontier airlines. I went with a random seat assignment but paid extra for baggage. Despite this, I still ended up having an affordable trip to my destination.

In-flight experience 

The in-flight experience with Sun Country Airlines has both its problems and benefits. Let’s discuss what I liked about my flight.

The airline staff, including flight attendants, gate agents, and cabin crew, were extremely professional and nice. They were efficient, and I had no complaints with them. I specifically liked the fact that Sun Country offered complimentary non alcoholic beverages on the plane. I have flown with plenty of low-cost carriers, but I have never seen this happen; I ended up appreciating the complimentary cup of hot coffee a lot. I should also mention that the taste was pretty decent as well. You can also get tea, juice, or soda.

They have a streaming service called Airfi that allows passengers to watch movies, shows, and other media on their personal devices. I really liked the wide and diverse range of selection they had in the library. 

Another good thing about the in-flight experience was their comfortable seating (even the middle seat was decent!). Overall, it’s safe to say that their seats were comfortable and had a lot of legroom; I can happily report that I made it through without any leg cramps.

Other pros

• Website feature: one of the most creative pros of Sun Country Airlines is the “bis for upgrade” feature on their website. As per this, passengers can book their flights and later bid for a premium seat. This is a cost-friendly and interesting way to enjoy a better flying experience.
• Destinations: Sun Country Airlines offers several routes from and to America, Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean. Although it is based in Minnesota, this airline has a wide network, including 50+ destinations. You can access them to fly to popular tourist destinations and holiday spots such as Orlando, Cancun, Punta Cana, and Las Vegas.
• Reward program: Sun Country Airlines is not a major airline, so you can’t expect over-the-top loyalty programs. However, they do offer a reward program for frequent fliers. “Ufly” can be used to redeem points for flights and additional services such as seat selection and bag charges.

Cons of Flying with Sun Country Airlines

Now that we have discussed the pleasant parts of my Sun Country flight, here are the problems I faced and the negative aspects of this airline.

Unreliable

One of the biggest issues I have with Sun Country Airlines is its unreliable nature. I, along with countless other passengers, have been subjected to this problem. I had an early flight at 7 am, so naturally, my travel partner and I reached the airport an hour early. We made ourselves comfortable, did all the necessary pre-boarding things, and waited for the clocks to reach 7 am. As we got to our gate agent, we were informed that the flight had been delayed for 4 hours. We were not warned beforehand, and this wasn’t even communicated to us until the last minute. 

Their unreliability is also depicted by their on-time performance statistics. Apparently, the American industry average is 77.6% while the Sun Country only records at 71%! This means that the airline scores more than 5% below the average. While Minneapolis and its bad weather play a huge role in disruptions and overall otp numbers, Sun Country fliers will confirm that the delays are almost like second nature to this airline. Unfortunately, you can’t rely on it to depart or land on time.

Booking experience 

In my personal opinion, I don’t think that Sun Country provides an efficient or considerate booking experience. The primary issue is that, much like every other low-cost carrier and budget airline, Sun Country also charges extra for online booking. As a leisure travel-based business, they should consider that passengers would want to confirm their holiday plans in advance. It may not be possible for everyone to go down to the airport and purchase a ticket or leave it until the last minute. I ended up paying the extra fees of online booking because it was quite literally impossible for me to opt for the alternative. 

Other than that, the website itself isn’t very advanced. It evidently lacks a user-friendly and responsive interface, making bugs and lag unavoidable. Unfortunately, it wasn’t exactly easy to navigate through the website and book the flight. I also noticed that, unlike Delta or American Airlines, Sun Country didn’t have any of the newer features like seat maps or price comparison tools.

Problems with the in-flight entertainment 

The in-flight experience was multifaceted as it had both pros and cons. We have already discussed the positive aspects, but it’s important to note some of the unpleasant things as well.

This airline’s streaming service, Airfi, does not require an app or wifi connection. However, the service is absolutely terrible. I will go as far as to say that it’s better not to have in-flight entertainment than to have this type of connection. I got irritated by the constant buffering, and it made my flight experience all the more unsatisfactory. Had I known that it wasn’t an option to begin with, I would have been much more content. Since they don’t have any wifi on board, passengers can not stay connected en route or meet important business deadlines. This is a big problem in long-haul flights where you have to stay disconnected for large periods of time.

From what I have heard, some of their aircraft do not have built-in power outlets either. Passengers may expect to charge their devices on the “pre-promised” outlets only to realize that their specific aircraft doesn’t have any. If you are flying with them in the future, I would recommend that you not take risks and fully charge your equipment before departure. Either that or make sure to bring a power bank with you!

Final Thoughts 

Concluding this review, it’s safe to say that Sun Country provides exactly what you expect it to. Their service isn’t extraordinary, but then again, you shouldn’t look for that in a ULCC airline. If you compare it to its competitors, it offers a decent level of service and a good value for money. 

If they deal with their disruptions, delays, and overall reliability, it has the potential to become one of the leading budget airlines in the leisure travel industry.

You can have a great experience flying with Sun Country Airlines if you understand the scope of their business practices and acknowledge that they won’t go above and beyond. Given their cheap fares and relatively nicer service, I would definitely fly with them again. 

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