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MSP-LAS on Sun Country (SY): Out in Y, Back in F | Vdara Executive Corner Suite

MSP-LAS on Sun Country (SY): Out in Y, Back in F | Vdara Executive Corner Suite

Old Aug 18, 2017, 6:29 pm
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MSP-LAS on Sun Country (SY): Out in Y, Back in F | Vdara Executive Corner Suite

Sun Country
Being based out of MSP for a number of years now, I have come to love Sun Country, billed as "Minnesota's Hometown Airline," for leisure travel. While I am lucky to have the opportunity to travel a few times a year for work and also do a bit of traveling for leisure, I am by no means a "frequent flyer". While I don't fly enough to gain status on one particular airline, I heavily purchase based on price, but I am also not willing to compromise on service.

For those of you unfamiliar with the airline, Sun Country is a "budget" airline in the sense that they have low-priced fares to mostly sunny destinations, but the experience on the ground and in the air seems no different than what you would experience from a legacy carrier. I find them somewhere between Spirit & Allegiant and JetBlue and SouthWest. They offer more built-in amenities than Spirit and Allegiant and don't nickle-and-dime you, but they don't quite have the cool, young, hip factor that Southwest and Jet Blue have. Their staff are always very friendly (can you say "Minnesota nice"), you are not charged to bring a carry-on rollaboard bag, you get a free soft drink in-flight and the leg room is quite nice. What more could you ask for?

While most of their flights are out of MSP, they do consider DFW and RSW as "focus cities". Although their small fleet would make one concerned about the possibility of long delays in the event of equipment failure, I've always been of the mind that this would only be a concern half of my journey, so I'm willing to take my chances!

I became disappointed this week when I heard that Sun Country was going to be going the way of Spirit by switching to a "no frills" pricing strategy (see the Star Tribune article). While the strategy makes sense, since nearly all of their customers are leisure travelers, and no matter what they say, leisure travelers choose based on price, I'm sad to see these changes, because they mean that the Sun Country I enjoy is going to change in a big way.

Since I had only seen a limited few TRs featuring Sun Country and their F experience, including those by SFO777 and findark, I figured I'd put together this report which I have been meaning to do for months, to highlight what a great experience Sun Country is and to only hope that it will remain a great experience in the coming years despite the upcoming changes.

Planning the trip
Before my upcoming nuptials, a bachelor party was in order. I'm not really the type to gamble. I had been to Las Vegas for the first time the year prior, and while I saw the allure, it wasn't quite what I had in mind for my bachelor party. I wanted to hang out, but nothing too wild (or expensive). However, the more I thought about it, Vegas seemed to make sense for a number of practical reasons. My groomsmen were going to be coming from all over the country, and most of the guys could get a direct flight there. The weather would be somewhat nice there in February, which was the only time everyone could make it. There were plenty of Friday evening flights from most locations that would let you head to the airport after work and still make it there Friday night, and the time zone difference going east-to-west allowed us to all get there Friday night and still have time to spend at the casino.

On Black Friday, I saw Sun Country was running a flash sale. Direct flights were going for $88 each way in Y. The outbound flight in F was aggressively priced, but the return flight in F was competitively priced for just $60 more. Comparable flights on Delta were going for $400-500. Considering that I was taking the red-eye back, it seemed that $60 for a little shut-eye was a small price to pay for the upgrade. I booked it in Y on the way out and F on the way back for $236 R/T. "Preferred" seats in the front of the cabin with no extra leg room could be had for $15 extra, and Exit Row seats could be cooked for $25. I deferred both of these for the outbound.

When I looked after booking my flights, they have a fixed, flat-rate upgrade fee for those who wish to upgrade to F later, which depends on the destination you are flying to. I believe for Las Vegas it was in the order of $160, but I can't find their published upgrade chart on their website anymore. Sun Country really relies on FCM as a revenue source, since their elite program is too small to fill the cabin on its own. They are well-known for bargain F fares.

I had a hard time figuring out where to stay in Las Vegas. Ideally, we would try to find an apartment or a suite where all of the guys could stay together; however, finding something suitable on The Strip that would fit everyone was not going to be feasible. I also didn't want something dingy, and some hotels looked a little worn. I had stayed at Aria previously and liked how new it was, but figured I also wouldn't mind staying in a hotel that doesn't have a casino so I could avoid the smoke whenever I'm trying to get to my room. Although I couldn't find a room where we could all stay on the strip, the Executive Corner Suite at Vdara offered a nice place we could use as "home base" and as a plus, it was non-smoking. The building was originally planned as a condominium complex; however, when the financial crisis hit, there wasn't much of a market for condo sales, so the building was turned into an all-suite hotel, with all of the rooms being larger than a typical room. The rates were pretty reasonable as well.

The Week Of
Of course you know you are living in Minnesota when the weather forecast predicts the snowstorm of the year to hit on the day you are traveling to Vegas! I started to panic because I had a 9 pm flight out on Friday night, and surely everything would be delayed and only god knows what time the flight would finally depart (or if I'd miss a full day of the two-day trip). The snowstorm was supposed to hit in the afternoon, and the earliest I could get out of work was noon. Sun Country issued a weather travel waiver allowing flight changes for free, so I called and switched to an earlier flight, leaving around 4 pm, figuring that in the worst case scenario, at least the 4 pm flight might get out before the 9 pm flight. I also asked about same-day changes, and the agent confirmed with me that Sun Country allows same-day confirmed changes, which they will process in person at the airport the day of, for $50 as long as there is a seat open in the cabin you purchased your fare in. They don't mention this anywhere on their website.

It's Go-Time!
The snowstorm surely lived up to the hype, and the drive to the airport took at least twice as long as it should have, but by a miraculous twist of fate, the storm passed just south of MSP, leaving the airport completely unscathed--not a flake of fresh snow on the ground! Everything was on-time, so I had plenty of time to chill and grab a bite to eat before the flight.

I had printed my boarding pass online, and since Sun Country participates in TSA PreCheck, I was through security in no-time. My only complaint with the check-in process is that Sun Country doesn't yet support electronic boarding passes.



I strolled through the fairly new Terminal 2. Since Terminal 2 is only serviced by Sun Country and Southwest, there are no lounges in Terminal 2. Terminals 1 and 2 are not connected airside, so the lounges in Terminal 1 are not accessible. The restaurant selection is fairly limited as well. I decided on the mexican restaurant in the middle of the terminal. The tacos were mediocre but the chips and salsa were divine! After a pre-departure margarita, I was ready to go!

Boarding
Boarding started right on time. Sun Country has been known to offer discounted First Class upgrades at the gate in order to fill their cabin. I was holding out hope that there may be a cheap seat available, but the cabin was full and no announcements were made.



Sun Country allows military service members to pre-board, which I thought was a classy touch. After first class came exit row and forward-cabin "preferred" seat selections. After this, they called by groups of rows from back to front. People were civil and gate lice were minimal.

When boarding, take note of the Cambria logo next to the boarding door. Sun Country was actually bought in 2011 by the Minnesota countertop company Cambria, which still owns it today.

On-board, the Boeing 737-700 was not the newest, but it was well kept and the seats were not very worn. The legroom was actually quite spacious.





We took off on-time and actually had time for two rounds of drink service on the flight to Las Vegas. I appreciated that they featured Minnesota beers (including Surly) on the menu. They had portable video players available to use for a fee in Y (free in F), but I had my iPad with, so didn't bother.

On the way in to runway 19R, I caught a nice glimpse of the Stratosphere and the rest of the Strip.


Hotel
Las Vegas is known for its painfully long hotel check-in lines. The saying goes that if the line is long, they figure you will just go and gable. I had checked in online for Vdara, but when I got to the hotel, there was no wait, so it was a moot point. Perhaps they staff hotels that don't have a casino in them better.

Many have posted online about the "$20 sandwich" (there are multiple websites dedicated to the subject), where you fold a $20 and place it between your ID and credit card when you check in. At the same time, you ask the desk staff if there are any "complimentary upgrades" available. If a room is available, the desk staff offers an upgrade and keeps the $20. The custom is that if they are unable to (or don't want to) upgrade your room, they will give your money back. Seems like there would be nothing to lose, but since we had already upgraded to a corner suite, I didn't think they'd have much room to upgrade us to, so I figured I'd save my $20 for the craps tables. Later did I figure out that I should have given it a try.

In no time, I was up to my room.


In true Vegas fashion, they actually figured a trick to have six "corner suites" on each floor, based on the way the building curves and tapers. As a result, you have the slightly awkward problem where you can see clear into the corner suite across the hall from you.

The room was nice and spacious


Half bathroom


Full kitchen


Bedroom


Bathroom



The view was pretty lame--just parking lots and everything else off the strip. It was at this point that I regretted skipping the $20 sandwich, since rooms on the other side of the hotel have views of the Bellagio Fountains. Oh well...




Return
Most of the guys took late afternoon flights out on Sunday, but two of us took Monday off and booked the red-eye. We spent most of the day at the craps table, and then my buddy, who was up a few hundred dollars, wanted to call it quits before his luck ran out, so we walked up and down the strip for a while before printing our boarding passes at the hotel and catching a Lyft to the airport.

I didn't see a Sun Country first class line, but maybe one existed. Either way, my buddy was flying in Y and with PreCheck, we got through security in no time. It's amazing how busy this airport is around Midnight on a Sunday night!

I bid adieu to my friend and shortly after parting ways, I was first to board and settled into 1C. The flight attendant promptly offered me a glass of wine, and I settled in as the rest of the plane boarded. The seat was comfortable and spacious, and I couldn't complain about the legroom. F was full for this flight.



Video player tablets were offered in the F cabin for free. In hindsight, I wished I had taken one just to browse the selection, but I wanted nothing more than to get a little shut-eye, so I declined.

Once we were in the air, drink service was prompt. While I was disappointed that they didn't have a snack basket, the did offer a meal on the red-eye! It was initially described to me as a "vegetable plate" and since that didn't sound worth staying up for, I declined. Can you blame me for turning down a bunch of vegetables after midnight on a Sunday night? 1B wasn't as foolish as me and took them up on their offer, and I have to say, it looked pretty delicious. If the FA had told me there was grilled chicken on it, I would have taken her up on it. The meal was served on china with silverware.

I reclined my seat back, kicked my legs out and pulled the blanket over me. I never really sleep well on planes, but I think I must have dozed off a couple of times. Shortly after 4 am, we landed in Minneapolis and had a quick taxi to the gate. As we deplaned, we passed by travelers with heavy eyes already at the gate waiting to depart to Cancun in a little over an hour.

Conclusion: The Future of Sun Country
I have never had a bad experience on Sun Country and have appreciated how they offer reasonable leisure fares without a "budget" experience. We will see what comes with the new "value-based" changes they are making. I can only hope that they maintain a high level of service in the future. If you are flying in or out or MSP and have the opportunity to fly on Sun Country, check it out while it still has its charm!
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Old Aug 18, 2017, 9:28 pm
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Thanks for the great TR and happy wedding!
I fly SFO / msp with Sun Country and I love it. I prefer SY over the big US3. Pax seem more relaxed overall.
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Old Aug 19, 2017, 5:28 am
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The 20 $ thing..... for me its something I cant understand. To be fair the reguar LV-hotels are not my cup of tea.
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Old Aug 19, 2017, 8:52 am
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Interesting report. Thanks for posting.

The $20 thing sounds like one of those only in America things.
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Old Aug 19, 2017, 3:19 pm
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Originally Posted by camsean
Interesting report. Thanks for posting.

The $20 thing sounds like one of those only in America things.
Only in Vegas I would say.
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Old Sep 3, 2017, 9:56 pm
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Fantastic report
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