Thinking About Sun Country?

I see they used to have a few DC-10's, but retired them in 2001. All I see now is that they only own 73's.

I thought they were on par with Allegiant?

They used to be a viable option to Delta in Minneapolis but they have been sold at one point and have changed to a Spirit/Allegiant/Frontier ‘Nickle and dime you’ marketing scheme. If thats what you want and you know it then that’s ok. Not a method i would ever choose again.
 
Well after reading 8 pages I didn't really learn a lot about Sun Country, heh.

If anyone is working or knows someone working there I'm interested in seeing what the culture, scheduling, and benefits are like. I can see the pay on APC. Does the DOD stuff mix in with everything else? It seems like scheduling for that would be radically different than the regularly scheduled flights.
 
Well after reading 8 pages I didn't really learn a lot about Sun Country, heh.

If anyone is working or knows someone working there I'm interested in seeing what the culture, scheduling, and benefits are like. I can see the pay on APC. Does the DOD stuff mix in with everything else? It seems like scheduling for that would be radically different than the regularly scheduled flights.
Buddy of mine got hired this summer after 10ish years in 135 freight and 91 corporate. Had dinner with him in September when I was back and he loves it. Wishes it paid a little better but says he’s way glad he made the switch to 121.
 
Well after reading 8 pages I didn't really learn a lot about Sun Country, heh.

If anyone is working or knows someone working there I'm interested in seeing what the culture, scheduling, and benefits are like. I can see the pay on APC. Does the DOD stuff mix in with everything else? It seems like scheduling for that would be radically different than the regularly scheduled flights.

The charters are a mixed bag. Some are known far enough in advance that they're built into regular lines, a good portion pop up into open time a few days prior and some are last minute and get assigned to reserves.

As a reserve CA I do charters almost exclusively. I think I've flown all of two scheduled trips since August, the rest has been charters. I don't know what it's like for reserve FOs. They tend to get called much more frequently than CAs, so it's probably more of a mix. The charter flying can be interesting: Smaller airports, military bases, that sort of thing. The hours can range from super easy day stuff to back-side-of-the-clock flying. Some folks like it, some don't.

Scheduling can really vary. Some months there are a ton of lines with 19+ days off and lots of turns, others it's hard to get more than 15 days off and a mix of turns, multi-day trips, deadheads and the odd red eye or two if you're not in the top 20%. We have commuters, and we're getting more and more, but it can be a tough place to commute to. Hopefully we start seeing more and more trips that are commutable on at least one end, we really need it.

After a year most FOs can hold a pretty good schedule, and probably sooner than that. I think FO reserve had been running around six months, maybe a touch less. The winter flying in particular can be a good time. Lots of warm destinations. There are a fair number of turns, but there are also a lot of Florida layovers, along with CUN, PUJ and MBJ that make for a nice break. I spent enough time in PUJ last winter that I was actually a little sick of the place.

Culturally, I dunno. It's a still a small airline, with the good and the bad that comes with that. Like most places, the people are generally fantastic to work with. The contract, particularly when it comes to work rules, has a lot of room for improvement, to put it nicely.

401K is, I think, 2% contribution and maybe a 6% or 8% match and the health benefits aren't too bad. Standard 80/20 plan and an HSA, which is cheap and pretty good.

There are things that drive me crazy and things I really like. I was literally texting my CP an hour ago with a concern about some upcoming ground transportation and the trip has since been modified to keep us off the road in a snowstorm. Having that sort of relationship is pretty sweet.

There's also plenty to complain about, don't get me wrong, but for the most part the place is what you make of it.
 
I live in MSP and am keeping an eye on them. I’m dragging my feet hoping for a better contract and more pay. Honestly I didn’t see enough advantages at SY to justify leaving my seniority at OO at this time.
 
The charters are a mixed bag. Some are known far enough in advance that they're built into regular lines, a good portion pop up into open time a few days prior and some are last minute and get assigned to reserves.

As a reserve CA I do charters almost exclusively. I think I've flown all of two scheduled trips since August, the rest has been charters. I don't know what it's like for reserve FOs. They tend to get called much more frequently than CAs, so it's probably more of a mix. The charter flying can be interesting: Smaller airports, military bases, that sort of thing. The hours can range from super easy day stuff to back-side-of-the-clock flying. Some folks like it, some don't.

Scheduling can really vary. Some months there are a ton of lines with 19+ days off and lots of turns, others it's hard to get more than 15 days off and a mix of turns, multi-day trips, deadheads and the odd red eye or two if you're not in the top 20%. We have commuters, and we're getting more and more, but it can be a tough place to commute to. Hopefully we start seeing more and more trips that are commutable on at least one end, we really need it.

After a year most FOs can hold a pretty good schedule, and probably sooner than that. I think FO reserve had been running around six months, maybe a touch less. The winter flying in particular can be a good time. Lots of warm destinations. There are a fair number of turns, but there are also a lot of Florida layovers, along with CUN, PUJ and MBJ that make for a nice break. I spent enough time in PUJ last winter that I was actually a little sick of the place.

Culturally, I dunno. It's a still a small airline, with the good and the bad that comes with that. Like most places, the people are generally fantastic to work with. The contract, particularly when it comes to work rules, has a lot of room for improvement, to put it nicely.

401K is, I think, 2% contribution and maybe a 6% or 8% match and the health benefits aren't too bad. Standard 80/20 plan and an HSA, which is cheap and pretty good.

There are things that drive me crazy and things I really like. I was literally texting my CP an hour ago with a concern about some upcoming ground transportation and the trip has since been modified to keep us off the road in a snowstorm. Having that sort of relationship is pretty sweet.

There's also plenty to complain about, don't get me wrong, but for the most part the place is what you make of it.

Thanks for this info. It's very helpful. Since you mentioned reserve, is it similar to reserve at other places? e.g. 2 hour callout, home or airport standby? Is long call an option?
 
I live in MSP and am keeping an eye on them. I’m dragging my feet hoping for a better contract and more pay. Honestly I didn’t see enough advantages at SY to justify leaving my seniority at OO at this time.

Is there a specific date when they will need a new contract? Are there reasons to think anything would be around the corner now?
 
Thanks for this info. It's very helpful. Since you mentioned reserve, is it similar to reserve at other places? e.g. 2 hour callout, home or airport standby? Is long call an option?

Two hour call out. We don't have long call or airport ready.

It's pretty rare to get a 2-hour call, but it happens. More typical is that you get notified the day prior.

Reserve here is better than at most regionals, for sure. But it's still only 11 or 10 days off and the company can slide your start times up to three hours, along with a host of other tools that can be frustrating. I've been on AM reserve and wound up with midnight shows, for example. It's rare, but it happens.

I'd love to have SWAs reserve language.
 
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