It’s the 21st century and you’d think that every airline out there would have an app to make the process before and after flying generally easier and more seamless.
You’d be wrong.
Until this week, Minneapolis-based ultra- low cost carrier Sun Country Airlines didn’t have an app. So if you wanted to fly on any of their 56 aircraft to one of 14 countries or nearly 100 U.S. cities that the airline services, and wanted to:
- See how many Sun Country Rewards you had
- Book a flight
- Change your seat
- See your flight status
- Learn about what aircraft you were on
- Check in for your flight
- Track your bags
- Look at a map of the airport you were flying to/from
- Have an electronic copy of your boarding pass
and a myriad of other things to manage your flight(s), you couldn’t do it on Sun Country’s app because they didn’t have one. You’d have to do those things on your computer, on your browser, at the airport, etc.
They used to have one
The funny thing is, Sun Country used to have an app. But with the airline in the midst of many changes at the time, they killed it off 7 years ago, back in 2017. It sounds as if it was just as well. In 2016, the description of their app by airlinemobileapps.com blog wasn’t particularly stellar:
The booking option is not well designed, and you have to spend some time scrolling to find your actual flight.
According to them, the app apparently did allow you to see an overview of R/T fares, book a flight or flight package, track flights, etc. However the blog also said that:
Navigating through the site is a bit awkward. Every time you use the back button, the site will ask if you want to submit foe form you have just completed (even if you have filled out any part of the form at all). … SunCountry has an excellent start to a mobile presence by navigation is awkward, and they are years behind their competition in terms of capabilities and user friendliness of their mobile site.
Now they have one again
The airline is even showing a sense of humor about it – their ad about it says “Our mobile app is finally here.”
What the new app can do
The app has several helpful features that cover most things a typical passenger would want to be able to do with an app:
Check-in
You can check in for your upcoming flight between one and 24 hours before your scheduled departure time.
Check your flight status
You’ll be able to stay up-to-date with the latest flight information for your trip, or easily check the status of any of their flights.
Get your boarding pass
No more paper boarding passes! The new app will allow you to bring your boarding pass up on your cell phone screen.
Add seats and bags
Sun Country’s app will allow you to pick your seat and add additional bags to your booking.
Manage your trips
You’ll be able to find all your trips in one easy-to-access spot, and be able to make changes from there.
Book a flight
The new app will allow you to search and book flights on your phone.
Access your profile
You’ll be able to easily access your Sun Country Rewards loyalty account information.
Available on the App Store and Google Play
The Sun Country app is available on both Apple and Android flavored phones.
They’re not the last ones, though
“I make a joke that we’re on the trailing edge of technology,” Sun Country Chief Marketing Officer Brian Davis said in a previous interview. “We will … become the last airline in the U.S. to have a mobile app that customers can engage with.”
He’s almost right. But not quite.
There are still 2 other mainline airlines that don’t have apps.
- Eastern Airlines is based in Miami. Established in 2010, they still don’t have an app.
- New Pacific Airlines is based out of Ontario, CA and they don’t have an app, either. But they’ve only been around since 2021, so they get a pass. 😉
There are currently 15 regional airlines based in the U.S., as well as 29 commuter carriers and 31 charter airlines – few, if any, have apps.
Of course, there are plenty of US-based cargo airlines too, but most members of the general public wouldn’t have a need for an app for those.
App design isn’t cheap
According to DesignRush, an advanced application with multiple complex features and functionalities, such as one an airline would need to be functional for its customers, can cost from $150,000 to $250,000. Smaller airlines, especially ones that may have financial problems, might not have the cash flow to invest in an app. The fact that Sun Country is releasing an app, after 7 years of not having one, shows they thought they were financially stable enough to invest in an app. So good for them!
Next up…maybe they can offer Wi-Fi one of these years? 😉
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