Sun Country Airlines would prioritise Boeing 737 operators that have similar approaches to scheduled passenger service and hauling freight in a potential airline combination partner.
That is according to chief financial officer Dave Davis, who seemed to suggest that Alaska Air Group – parent of Alaska Airlines, Hawaiian Airlines and regional carrier Horizon Air – could be a potential partner for the Minneapolis-based low-cost carrier.
“I think there are a lot of aspects that would make us fit well with others, but the thing about the business model that may be complex to some others is probably the cargo business,” Davis said during the JP Morgan industrials conference on 11 March.
“It’s unique,” he continues. ”I think other airlines who do charter flying and a scheduled-service business could fit in well… We would fit in best with other carriers that schedule in a similar way.”
“That said, Alaska just bought Hawaiian, and Hawaiian’s got a big Amazon deal; that’s probably the thing that comes to mind.”
There is no indication that Alaska and Sun Country have engaged in tie-up discussions. Sun Country tells FlightGlobal that Davis’ comments pertained to the logistics of integrating a complex cargo operation and did not specifically relate to joining Alaska Air Group.
”Dave Davis was saying that a merger or acquisition with a hybrid airline like ours would be complex,” says Wendy Burt, Sun Country’s senior director of communications. ”But not unheard of when Alaska and Hawaiian merged with Hawaiian’s cargo business line.”
Alaska Air Group closed its deal to acquire Hawaiian last year and is in the process of merging the airlines onto a single operating certificate.
Some synergy could be had in a potential Alaska-Sun Country combination. Sun Country is ramping up flying cargo on behalf of Amazon and anticipates flying 20 cargo-equipped Boeing 737-800s on behalf of the retailer by year-end.
Alaska has a standalone cargo arm and was an all-737 operator prior to acquiring Hawaiian, which operates a growing fleet of cargo-converted Airbus A330s for Amazon.
Sun Country’s base in Minneapolis would give Alaska a mid-continent hub in addition to its headquarters in Seattle and Honolulu, and more narrowbody jets in a tight market for aircraft.
Davis’ comments come weeks after he described Sun Country as “pro-M&A” – referring to mergers and acquisitions – and suggesting that multiple “combinations are coming” to the US airline industry.
Acquisition talk in the sector has ramped up following the inauguration of US President Donald Trump. But it remains unclear how any such deals would be affected by weeks of turmoil in US markets, and recent bearish comments on the state of the economy from executives at American Airlines and Delta Air Lines.
This story has been edited to reflect that comments were provided by Dave Davis, not Sun Country CEO Jude Bricker.
