Decent Airline but Has Significant Problems
Written: Feb 13 '04 (Updated Feb 13 '04)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Low fare, friendly service, nice terminals.
Cons: Delays.
The Bottom Line: Make sure your schedule is flexible before booking.
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| mxy15's Full Review: Sun Country Airlines |
I needed to get to Minneapolis on fairly short notice and Sun Country was the only direct flight from NYC area that was under $1,000. Even connected flights were significantly more expensive (around $350 to over $1,000 compare with Sun Country's $200 round trip). So even though I wasn't familiar with the airline, I just had to take a chance. And for the amount of money I spend, it wasn't too bad of a deal if it wasn't for the major delay coming back.
Sun Country flies out of JFK from Terminal 3, Delta's terminal. It has one flight a day at this time and it only goes to Minneapolis from here. The terminal was reasonable easy to get to and the flight was about half full on our way there. They fly a 737-500 with 3 seats on each side and a center isle. The plane was in reasonably good condition. Seems newer (on the inside) then some AA or Continental plants I've been on. The staffs were friendly and courteous. Exactly what I would expect from an airline out of the Midwest.
The flight to Minneapolis was smooth. It left the gate on-time and arrived on-time. FYI, Sun Country does not go to MSP (Minneapolis-St. Paul International), its gates are located at the Humphrey Terminal, which is not far from MSP. There is a shuttle bus that services both airports but if you have a rental car waiting for you with someone other then National/Alamo, you will have to get to MSP to get your rental car. Otherwise, the Humphrey terminal is very nice. Newly renovated and easy to get in and out of.
The night before my flight back, I found out by email through Orbitz.com that my flight departure time was changed to 3 hours after its original scheduled time. This was disappointing but I thought since it is Minneapolis in the middle of winter, having some kind of delay was not too un-reasonable. Next day, I got to the airport and soon found out that the flight is now delayed again by another 1-1/2 hours! So now pretty much my whole day is wasted because the schedule departure time is now 12:30 PM. Complain to the counter people only got vague explanations because they didn't know what's going on either. By 12 o'clock, we get even more bad news. The flight is delayed again! This time to 3:30 PM, another 3 hours.
It turns out, the airplane that was suppose to take us to JFK that morning was stuck in Phoenix because it needed repair and it did not have the right parts. And since Sun Country is such a small airline, they didn't have the resource to get another plane out of the hanger and takes us home. So we had to wait for another flight to come in and Sun Country had to delay someone else's flight in order to send us home. Once we got on the flight, the rest of it was pretty uneventful but the delay just killed me. If the flight had been free maybe I wouldn't complain as much but for just 2 meal vouchers and a $50 travel voucher, it was no compensation for my lost time.
Another problem I had with Sun Country was the way it informed its passengers of the original delay. As mentioned before, I learned of the delay from my online travel agent, Orbitiz.com. If it wasn't for that email, I would've showed up at 7 AM and wait until 3:30 PM for my flight. Some passengers actually did not get the notice and had to wait the entire time the flight was delayed. It turns out, Sun Country only had my home phone number on file, so when I got home, sure enough there was a message in my answer machine to inform me that the flight was re-scheduled. Oh, well, better late then never!
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
mxy15
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Location: NJ
Reviews written: 12
Trusted by: 1 member
About Me:
Home Theater and HiFi Hobbyist. Electronics junky.
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