Sun Country Airlines???????? MSP to MCO

[grover]

Can any of you fill me in Sun Country Airlines??
Being from Canada I don't know anything about them...but they do fly direct to Orlando!
Has this airline been around a long time?? Is it a reputable airline?
Do you fly them? Would you fly them?
Pros...Cons...
Any info would be appreciated!
G in W

 

[klynn]

We've flown with Sun Counry again and we'll be flying with them again this Saturday. They fly out of the Humphrey terminal which is so nice and easy to navigate! I especially like the fact that they are non-stop to Orlando!

 

[Disneyjosh229]

We flew Sun Country MANY years ago (12 to be exact) and they were OK. Nothing to write home about, but they got us to MCO!

 

[mellbe113]

Grover,

We live in Minneapolis so have flown Sun Country a lot. I chose them over Northwest anytime. They fly out of th smaller airport which is a plus, they are still friendly, and best of all, price competitive! You can't go wrong with them. Hope this helps.

Julie

 

[zulaya]

Actually it's the same airport - MSP - just the smaller terminal. Sun Country started out as a charter and went public, oh, 5-6 years ago. They were bumpy in the early days, but they seem to have their act together. They have newer planes and that non stop flight.

The only thing is they only have 1 flight per day MSP-MCO and 1 flight per day MCO-MSP. So if you were hoping for flexible times, they don't do that. But I know that I personally love their time schedule. They leave first thing in the morning - usually somewhere between 6am and 7am depending on the time of year - and the return flight is usually around 1pm-ish, give or take an hour, depending on the time of year.

If they had a good price for the dates I was flying, I would definitely fly them, because they do fly at my ideal times. Sometimes they do and sometimes they don't.

 

[pugdog]

And they have a hot sandwich on the flight too!

 

[grover]

I had a minute and checked out the schedule...time of day is not that big a issue for us..as long as we get there!
The prices look good too..way less than flying from canada..would save me over 1000.00 and it would not cost us that much to travel down to msp from winnipeg.
Thanks for the feedback on this airline..I will be keeping an eye on their prices!
How far in advance do they sell their tix..I need for Oct 2006...so should I start checking in say Jan?
G in W

 

[dudspizza]

We love Sun Coutnry too! The HHH terminal is great, the prices are very competitive and the hot breakfast sandwich was nice. They recently started advanced seat assignment via their web site and they do offer online check in up to 24hrs in advance to print boarding passes.

I will fly them over NWA unless NWA has a phenominal price... oh wait, we are talking NWA here

I would highly recommend them. They do shift flight times once in a while, though the time moves a few minutes or so... this trip the flight was moved to 615am from 730am.. but that just gets us to WDW earlier.....

Have a great trip. Check in to that St Paul Winter Carnival deal I mentioned in the other thread you posted about flights from MSP.

Duds

 

[pugdog]

They currently have prices through december right now.

 

[disneymom3]

I really like Sun Country. I flew them first in college from LAX coming back to school in Mpls and was not too thrilled. Pretty bare bones. Since then we have flown them several times and most recently I was really impressed. The service is great, they actually give you a sandwich and drink, the employees are friendly. The only thing I didn't like was coming back from LAX at 11:30 at night and that was my only choice.

 

[Disneyjosh229]

For you MN people, Im sure NWA is pretty expensive, but here in DTW, NWA is a pretty competive airline, often cheaper then Southwest.

 

[grover]

thanks for the additional feedback...I am not tooo worried about frills/meals ect..as long as it is a reputable airline with friendly employees and they get to me to disney--then I am one happy camper!!
So I have a wait now to see my airfares as we won't be going to Oct of next year. I would be very happy with anything around 200.00 per person!
Ohh one last question...how is long term parking at that terminal? Last time we used a hotel that was park and fly as parking was toooo much at the main terminal.
Grover in Winnipeg

 

[dudspizza]

thanks for the additional feedback...I am not tooo worried about frills/meals ect..as long as it is a reputable airline with friendly employees and they get to me to disney--then I am one happy camper!!
So I have a wait now to see my airfares as we won't be going to Oct of next year. I would be very happy with anything around 200.00 per person!
Ohh one last question...how is long term parking at that terminal? Last time we used a hotel that was park and fly as parking was toooo much at the main terminal.
Grover in Winnipeg

Parking is around 12-13 for long term parking at the HHH terminal. I would suggest a park and fly hotel. We use the Crown Plaza in Eagan. $85 to stay the night before and leave your car there. It is a very nice hotel. The shuttle service is awesome and they are very friendly. You can get the $85 deal by booking via http://www.hobbittravel.com/park.htm They will charge a $20 booking fee, but it is still a good price. You may also contact the hotel via their web site and ask if they will give you the Hobbit price. I did this for next month and they did it. I don't have to pay the $20 booking fee. Here is their web site http://www.ichotelsgroup.com/h/d/cp/1/en/hd/EAGMN?&rateCode=&rateDesc=&country=

Sun Country also lists the Comfort Inn in Bloomington as their park and fly deal. It is $99 including tax. My mom has used their service and was happy with it. I love the Crown Plaza, so I go that route. You can't go wrong with either.

If you don't want to use a park and fly hotel, I recommend a park and fly lot near the HHH terminal off of 34th ave. Here are two close ones that my mom has used and my buddy uses a lot for business.
http://parknfly.com/
http://parkngo.net/

Good luck. BTW, my next door neighbor is from Winnepeg. Her parents still live up there...nice people.

Duds

 

[grover]

Dudspizza...thanks for the links-I have em bookmarked! Our last trip we stayed at the Country Inn & Suites right across from Mall of America, I believe their park and fly was about 99.00 at the time. Are the hotels you mentioned closer to the airport than the one I stayed at? I don't know much about location in MSP--not sure where Eagen is--but we are great with a map so no problem in finding it..the price is great! Did they have a special lot for the park & fly?
Also thanks for the links..depending on flight times we may not even need a hotel..just drive down and hop on the plane!
Grover in Winnipeg

 

[zulaya]

So if you are on the 7am flight, any of these park n fly hotels have a grab n go continental breakfast type thing?

I have stayed at a couple Hampton Inns in Chicago and Atlanta that if you have to leave before the continental breakfast is usually served, they have Grab N Go bags at the front desk that usually have a muffin, bottled water, apple or something like that.

Any of these hotels do that? We are contemplating a park n fly for our October trip. Usually we have a relative drop off and pick up, but that might not be feasible for that trip so we are looking into other options.

 

[dudspizza]

I am unsure if the Crowne Plaza offers a continental breakfast. Their first shuttle to the airport is at 430am and we are on it. Too early to be thinking breakfast.

The Country Inn and Suites is a little closer to the airport. Eagan is a large town just east of the airport (across the river valley). The Crowne Plaza is at Pilot Knob Road and 494, which is the first exit across the river. It was so cool to sit in our room and watch planes fly directly over our hotel as they were landing!

I just drove from the Crowne Plaza to the HHH terminal last weekend. It took us less than 5 minutes. Very easy to do. I especially like it because they own their own shuttle buses and they have 5-6 of them, so you are not waiting for a contracted shuttle to come. When we landed in August, we called and the shuttle was to HHH to get us in less than 15 minutes.

The parking lot at Crowne Plaza is located in front of the hotel. They have you park in the last two rows furthest away from the entrance, but it is still very close. It is right near the entrance and very visible for all to see. I felt very comfortable leaving our mini van there for our trip. In fact, when we drove through last weekend, there was a van with a Mickey antenae topper parked there. I wonder where they were???? LOL

Again, I highly recomment their hotel as long as you can get the park and fly deal via Hobbit or by contacting them directly. Like I said above, you can use the email link on their web site to ask if they will give you the Hobbit deal directly to avoid the booking fee. All they can say is no, then you use Hobbit.

Have a great time! We are staying there in 25 days and can't wait. We are going to go over to the MOA for a while, ride a couple of rides and eat at the Rainforest Cafe. It will be a little primer for what is to come!

Duds

 

[dudspizza]

Here is where the Crowne Plaza is located. The airport is at the top left corner of the map.

 

[dudspizza]

Here is a picture of the parking lot. The park and fly area is located on the top left. You can't actually see it from the roof because of all the trees. It is a very nice setting.

 

[golfgal]

We have flown Sun Country several times and every time I think, why don't we do this more often. The staff is always very friendly, unlike NWA, and prices are always good. Like others have said, flying out of Humphery terminal is like flying out of a very small airport. It is much easier to get around, get dropped off, etc.

We have also stayed at the MOA Country Inn and Suites many times. The staff is friendly, rooms are clean and the park and ride is great. We have done the park and fly lots, too. They are convienent if you don't need a hotel stay and if you have AAA or CAA they usually offer a discount. The Country Inn does offer a typical Continental Breakfast, rolls, muffins, English Muffins, Bagels, cereal, juice, milk, coffee and some fruit, apples and bananas last time we were there.

We are flying to Orlando in 9 days on SC. Our flight leaves at 8:15 am and gets into Orlando at 12:20 (time change, really isn't that long of a flight). Our return flight leaves at 11:20 am.

 

[golfgal]

Here is where the Crowne Plaza is located. The airport is at the top left corner of the map.

Ok, way off topic, but I used to live by Rogers Lake that is in your map. Brings back some memories from high school, great make out spot .