The Pilots of ALPA - Air Line Pilots Association

THE PILOTS OF ALPA
Sun Country
Brighter Skies for
Sun Country
By Rusty Ayers, ALPA
Senior Communications
Specialist
SCA at a Glance
Founded: 1982, by pilots and
flight attendants from the
former Braniff International
Airlines
Pilots Joined ALPA: 1996
Number of pilots: 163;
all furloughees have been
recalled and the airline
trained 10 new-hire pilots in
November 2010
Pilot Base: Minneapolis-St.
Paul
Operations: Based in
Mendota Heights, Minn.,
Sun Country flies scheduled
service to 32 destinations plus
charter flights to numerous
locations in the continental
United States, Hawaii, Alaska,
Mexico, the Caribbean, and
the United Kingdom. The
airline is also actively seeking
military charter flying
Fleet: 12 B-737NGs
48 Air Line Pilot January/February 2011
The picture couldn’t
have been much bleaker
for Minneapolisbased
Sun Country Airlines
as it entered 2010: its CEO
was in jail, its ownership was
in question, the airline was in
bankruptcy, and the employees
had endured temporary
50 percent pay cuts the previous
year.
But just a year later, the
airline, which is still known
primarily for flying snow-
weary Midwesterners to tropical
vacations, is profitable,
coming out of bankruptcy,
and adding new pilots to its
ranks as it expands operations
worldwide.
“We are very pleased to
finally be getting some good
news,” says Capt. Dennis
Vanatta, the pilots’ Master
Executive Council (MEC)
chairman. “Thanks in part
to the combined efforts of
CEO Stan Gadek, a dedicated
and experienced pilot group,
their ALPA representatives,
and all the hard-working
employees of Sun Country
Airlines, things are starting to
improve around here under
Mr. Gadek’s direction and
leadership after the neglect of
earlier years.”
The pilots’ contract became
amendable last March, and
they have been in Section
6 negotiations for almost a
year. Negotiations have gone
slowly in large part because of
the company’s slow emer-
gence from bankruptcy,
made more complex because
former CEO Tom Petters, now
in federal prison, still owes
billions of dollars to creditors
he defrauded in a massive
Ponzi scheme.
The last hurdle to leaving
Chapter 11 is Department of
Transportation approval of
the airline’s new certificate
holders; but once that’s
accomplished, the pilots will
celebrate the significant feat
of emerging from bankruptcy
with their contract unscathed.
Sun Country experienced
a number of historic firsts
in 2010 that bode well for
the airline’s future. After
winning ETOPS certification
in the spring, the airline flew
its first transatlantic trip in
seasonal scheduled service
from Minneapolis–St. Paul
F/O Chuck Doyle is a second-
generation ALPA member.
to London’s Stansted Airport
on June 11. That service was
so popular that management
has announced that
it’s expanding the route for
2011, moving it to London’s
Gatwick Airport and offering
twice-weekly service from
MSP from Memorial Day
through Labor Day.
Also in June, Sun Country
operated its first transpacific
flight in charter service
from Phoenix to Honolulu,
opening up a potentially
lucrative destination for its
vacation charter business.
And in November, the airline
beat out AirTran, Republic,
Southwest, and US Airways
to win a coveted landing
slot at Washington’s Reagan
National Airport. It plans to
revive a route between DCA
and Lansing, Mich., that
Northwest Airlines had operated
until 2006.
Another potential revenue
stream is military charter flying,
but that goal raises some
difficult negotiations issues
since management would be
asking pilots to be out of the
country for extended periods
of time and to fly into some
possibly dangerous places.
This is being addressed in
Section 6 negotiations, along
with efforts to clear up a
backlog of grievances.
“This MEC seeks to work
collaboratively with management
to realize opportunities
that will secure our futures,
while steadfastly striving to
obtain a new labor agreement
that appropriately recognizes
and rewards the valuable
contributions our pilots have
always made each and every
day,” says Vanatta.
Sun Country’s strategy
under Gadek is to diversify
the carrier and strengthen its
revenue base, with a major
goal of making the airline
profitable year round, not
just during the busy winter
vacation season. The plan has
worked so far, with the airline
posting enough revenue to
send out profit-sharing checks
to employees in 2010. The
airline has also recalled all its
furloughees, added aircraft to
both its seasonal and permanent
fleet, and trained two
new-hire classes this winter.
“It’s a great pleasure to
have our furloughed pilots
back and to welcome new
pilots to our airline as well.
The additional aircraft and
crews should allow Sun
Country to take advantage of
further business opportunities,
so we are cautiously
optimistic about the future,”
Vanatta says.