Dave Davis, president and chief financial officer at Sun Country Airlines (SY, Minneapolis St. Paul International), has said that the company is in favour of mergers and acquisitions in the ultra-low-cost carrier segment in the United States under the right conditions. This is despite such a move not being in its business plan at the moment.
“We think that there are combinations with Sun Country that make a lot of sense, and we continue to look at things. It's certainly not our base plan, but I do believe the industry needs to consolidate on the low-cost side,” he said at a Barclays industrial conference last week.
The carrier, whose business spans low-cost, cargo, and charter operations, operates a fleet of 58 aircraft comprising forty-four B737-800s, thirteen B737-800(BCF)s, and one B737-900ER, according to the ch-aviation fleets module. Such a diversification of the business model makes it more complex for Sun Country to potentially merge or acquire another carrier, Davis acknowledged.
“The uniqueness of our model makes it a little more difficult for us. You know, we got 20 freighters [some have not arrived but will do so, as part of Sun Country’s cargo partnership with Amazon.com], which is different than some of the other [airlines],” he said.
The CFO did not disclose the names of any carriers it would be interested in merging with or acquiring. Earlier this month, Frontier Airlines made another merger attempt with Spirit Airlines, currently under Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganisation, but the latter declined the offer, opting to proceed on its own.
