Sun Country plans ULCC pivot

The carrier will also add seats to its aircraft, cutting legroom and the cost per seat-mile flown (CASM), a metric commonly used to compare between airlines. That also translates into greater revenue opportunities in that there are more seats per flight available to be sold.

Boosting the revenue will come from more fees — high, carry-on bag charges! — and taking away other amenities typically included in the fare price. This unbundling is hardly a new concept but it is one that until now Sun Country resisted. With the three network carriers also pursuing the “Basic Economy” model it is hard to argue that this is a mistake for the company, even if it does annoy some customers. After all, their other options mostly do the same thing.

The company is also set to branch out from its hub at MSP airport. The competition against Delta from its home base certainly doesn’t help anything and other markets may exist where point-to-point leisure travel will be compelling. Bricker’s experience with such route networks at Allegiant will undoubtedly be useful in helping plan this aspect of the Sun Country shift.

Making major changes like this is dangerous but not unprecedented. Frontier managed to pull it off at least reasonably successfully, though its model is hardly perfect. And it, too, is pivoting from point-to-point service to a hub-and-spoke model, choosing to battle with legacy carriers along the way. Frontier also managed to slash operating costs significantly, allowing it to be competitive with the other ULCCs on that front. Sun Country, even after slashing costs 20%, will still have higher expenses than the ULCCs, leaving it in an incredibly tough position.

The cost cuts are almost certainly going to piss off some passengers who might have previously paid a little extra to the home-town carrier. As the revenue premium shrinks the cost pressure grows. And there isn’t a lot more to cut once the basic stuff (bags, seat assignments, etc.) is done. The carrier is in a tough spot with its small fleet (only 22 737s) and limited ability to scale. But once this change is made it’ll be nearly impossible to go back.

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