Trip Report: Sun Country Airlines, New Orleans to Minneapolis
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I was traveling to Minneapolis from New Orleans and generally there are two options available - either Delta or Sun Country Airlines. I have flown Delta but have never flown Sun Country and was curious to decided to try them out. From New Orleans, Sun Country flies one flight a day and the timings change; luckily for me the day I wanted to fly out they flew in the evening at the exact same time the Delta flight was heading out. When I did research, Sun Country is a leisure-based airline that operates mainly to vacation and leisure destinations so I was not sure what to expect when booking the ticket or when onboard.
You can book the ticket either through the website, the app, or directly at the airport. When I booked online, the website and the options reminded me of ULCC, Spirit and Frontier, as there was a basic charge for the ticket and then there were fees for everything else from the carry-on to selecting your seat. If you book online, they charge a 'passenger convenience fee' which can range in price, and online research said you can avoid this fee by booking at the airport yet no one could tell me if you could book the bundle of seat + carryon at the airport. I paid for the bundle and the total for everything for my one-way flight was $110 which was a very good price. 24-hours prior to my flight I checked in online and received my boarding pass so when I got to the airport I went directly to my gate. The plane had just come from Minneapolis and was turning around to go back; and boarding was done by groups but the process was slow and more akin to leisure carriers rather than ULCC carriers. The operating aircraft was a Boeing 737-800 in a 3-3 seat configuration. The first couple of rows were premium seats which contained more legroom and complimentary snacks during the service. The remaining aircraft was in a standard 3-3 configuration with slimline-esque seats but they did have a recline and an adjustable headrest. The seats were basic as there was a literature compartment up top, a tray table underneath, a pocket below that, and USB ports were available below the seats. There was no seatback entertainment but you could connect to the wifi to stream movies, TV shows, and audio (there was no moving map no flight path so you could not figure out where you were).
Even though we were boarded ahead of the pushback time, there was no rush from the staff to close the door and depart early; again their attitude and pace of movement was more akin to leisure carriers versus ULCC even though their booking and other items were similar to ULCC. We pushed back, manual safety demonstrations were conducted, and we took off for Minneapolis. Once we reached our cruising altitude, the in-flight service commenced. Sun Country offers complimentary drinks including soda, water, tea and coffee but everything else needs to be purchased onboard; premium seat members did receive a complimentary pack of snack but also had to purchase everything else. The complimentary drinks were a nice touch and akin to leisure carriers, but not giving a snack and having a buy-on-board was more like ULCCs. After the service finished, the FA's were rarely seen in the cabin for the remainder of the flight; no additional water nor trash collection was conducted and they only came back once they were preparing the cabin for landing.
The remainder of the flight was uneventful and you could pass your time watching entertainment onyour screen, sleeping, or staring out the window. The seats were decently comfortable but started to get uncomfortable towards to the end of the flight. The legroom was also decent and similar to what you would find on a leisure carrier and not that of ULCC. Once we landed there was no rush to get to the gate or deplane as fast as you can, instead there was a leisure pace to deboarding. After my experience, I am perplexed with Sun Country Airlines. Part of their model resembles ULCC - from paying for seat selection, carry-ons and snacks - while other aspects resemble a leisure carrier - complimentary onboard drinks, decent legroom and being able to recline your seat. It was an interesting but uneventful flight and got me to Minneapolis on time (the Delta flight that was scheduled to leave about the same time left early and got to Minneapolis early as well).
I was traveling to Minneapolis from New Orleans and generally there are two options available - either Delta or Sun Country Airlines. I have flown Delta but have never flown Sun Country and was curious to decided to try them out. From New Orleans, Sun Country flies one flight a day and the timings change; luckily for me the day I wanted to fly out they flew in the evening at the exact same time the Delta flight was heading out. When I did research, Sun Country is a leisure-based airline that operates mainly to vacation and leisure destinations so I was not sure what to expect when booking the ticket or when onboard. 
The remainder of the flight was uneventful and you could pass your time watching entertainment onyour screen, sleeping, or staring out the window. The seats were decently comfortable but started to get uncomfortable towards to the end of the flight. The legroom was also decent and similar to what you would find on a leisure carrier and not that of ULCC. Once we landed there was no rush to get to the gate or deplane as fast as you can, instead there was a leisure pace to deboarding. After my experience, I am perplexed with Sun Country Airlines. Part of their model resembles ULCC - from paying for seat selection, carry-ons and snacks - while other aspects resemble a leisure carrier - complimentary onboard drinks, decent legroom and being able to recline your seat. It was an interesting but uneventful flight and got me to Minneapolis on time (the Delta flight that was scheduled to leave about the same time left early and got to Minneapolis early as well).
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