[5] The company began offering charter service and the first revenue flight was on January 20, 1983 from Sioux Falls to Las Vegas, using a Boeing 727 aircraft leased from Air Florida.

[13] Following the replacement of interim CEO Jay Salmen by Stan Gadek, former CFO of AirTran Airways, Sun Country was nearly finished by the major recession of 2008 and the revelation that Petters Group Worldwide was operating a massive financial fraud, a $3.25 billion Ponzi scheme.

[19] In July 2011, Sun Country was bought out of bankruptcy for $34 million by the Davis family, owners of Cambria, a Minnesota-based countertop company.

[24] On December 14, 2017, the Davis brothers announced they would be selling the airline to funds affiliated with New York Based Apollo Global Management for an undisclosed amount.

[3] As Sun Country's passenger model is heavily leisure focused, this deal is designed to help stabilize revenues during non-peak seasons.

Under this new contract, Amazon Air will transfer an additional 8 737-800BCF aircraft to Sun Country, increasing the airline's cargo fleet to 20 airframes.

[41] In 2023, Sun Country was named the best low cost carrier in North America at the Paris Airshow's World Airline Rankings.

[42] As of January 2024[update], Sun Country Airlines flies to 81 destinations and operates more than 100 routes throughout the Caribbean, United States, Canada, Mexico and Central America.

The airline additionally provides charter service for the United States Armed Forces[46] and NCAA football teams.