Sun Country Airlines (SY, Minneapolis/St. Paul) will begin operating dedicated cargo flights for Amazon.com during the second quarter of 2020 amid plans to induct ten P2F-converted B737-800 freighters into its fleet.

Up until this deal, the carrier, based in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis-St. Paul, was best known for its leisure travel flying, seeing it operate to more than 50 destinations across the US, Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean. Sun Country Airlines Chief Executive Officer since July 2017, Jude Bricker was given a mandate by owners private equity firm Apollo Global Management to boost revenue streams and the announcement to work with Amazon follows decisions to drop premium-class, cut service levels in economy, move into offices in the airline's hangar, and refocus the airline's network.

In November, Sun Country announced its biggest-ever route expansion, with 12 new routes planned from May 2020.

“Our partnership with Amazon presents a unique opportunity to significantly grow our airline,” said Bricker. “Sun Country is on an incredible growth path, and our secret sauce lies in our ability to run an ever-changing schedule across different areas of our business, including scheduled service, charter and cargo. While the past two years have been focused on scheduled service growth, this exciting opportunity gives us a chance to diversify even further. We look forward to working with our great partners at Amazon on this new venture.”

“We’re thrilled to partner with Sun Country as they look to grow their cargo operations,” Sarah Rhoads, Vice President, Amazon Global Air, said. “Sun Country has a proven track record flying 737-800 aircraft and a commitment to serving customers. As we continue to grow our air cargo fleet on behalf of our customers to ensure fast, free delivery, we look forward to the ongoing partnership with Sun Country.”

Amazon will own the ten aircraft and decide where they fly, but it will sublease them to Sun Country, increasing the airline’s B737-800 fleet to 39 aircraft. For the duration of the six-year contract, Sun Country will operate the aircraft on behalf of Amazon under its FAA air carrier certificate.

Amazon already works with various third-party suppliers for its airlift including Atlas Air (5Y, New York JFK), ATI - Air Transport International (8C, Wilmington, OH), ASL Airlines France (5O, Paris CDG), and Southern Air (Cincinnati International).