The COVID-19 pandemic has wreaked havoc on aviation-related businesses around the globe, apart from Sun Country Airlines. The airline turned a profit in quarter three, thanks to their cargo-handling segment. In a recent episode of the AviationPros Podcast, Jude Bricker, CEO of Sun Country Airlines, details how the company has been successful amidst a crisis.

Last year, Sun Country Airlines signed a deal with Amazon to start handling cargo for the online retail giant. “I can’t imagine it being more important than it is now,” Bricker said when asked about how important the cargo business is to Sun Country Airlines' success. Bricker mentioned the airline is interested in growing that cargo operation in the future, but it is dependent on what Amazon wants to see moving forward.

Thanks to their successful cargo-handling segment, job cuts have been minimal during the COVID-19 pandemic. The airline had announced 112 positions would be cut, but only 18 of them were reduced. Of those 18, nine people were offered new positions within the company.

“The pre-COVID plan is still the long term strategy,” Bricker said when asked how COVID-19 will affect the airline in the future. Sun Country will continue to focus on its core customers, “... the four and a half million people in Minnesota that pay with their own money going on leisure trips.”

To listen to Bricker’s complete conversation with Airport Business Editor-in-Chief Joe Petrie about Sun Country Airlines’ success, visit AviationPros.com/21158230