Sun Country Airlines to offer weekly flights to Minneapolis
Feb. 20—Manchester-Boston Regional Airport has landed its sixth airline — and its furthest direct flight west — with new weekly nonstop service to Minnesota starting this summer.
Sun Country Airlines, which flies to more than 100 cities, will begin offering nonstop service to the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport on Aug. 22 with a flight arriving in Manchester in the afternoon and returning to Minnesota the same day.
The airline typically will fly between the two cities on Sundays and Thursdays, but sometimes offers flights on other days, said Airport Director Ted Kitchens.
Kitchens said talks with Sun Country started about two years ago, cooled and resumed a few months back.
"I think a lot of people think it's like Burger King — you have it your way," Kitchens said of luring new airlines.
Airlines focus on several economic metrics when considering new routes.
"They need people; they need (passengers with) good paying jobs; they need a robust economy and they need (customers) to be employed," Kitchens said. "That's what we have in very high numbers in New Hampshire."
This marks the second announcement by the Manchester airport within a week about added airline service.
Last week, the state's largest airport announced that Avelo Airlines will be adding a twice-weekly route to Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport in South Carolina starting May 10. The airline also will expand its existing route to Raleigh-Durham International Airport in North Carolina from twice weekly to four times weekly starting May 2.
With the new cities, Manchester's airport will offer flights to 14 airports in 13 cities.
Sun Country will begin this route with Boeing 737-800s.
The addition of Manchester means Sun Country now will operate flights to all six New England states.
"Sun Country Airlines is a new breed of hybrid low-cost air carrier that dynamically deploys shared resources across our synergistic scheduled service, charter and cargo businesses," the Minneapolis-based airline said on its website.
A Sun Country executive explained his company's interest.
"Minnesotans will be eager to visit New Hampshire for the American history it offers and the beautiful fall colors of New England," Grant Whitney, Sun Country's senior vice president and chief revenue officer, said in a statement.
"Sun Country and our Minneapolis-St. Paul community will warmly welcome visitors from New Hampshire to Minnesota, where you'll experience great fall weather, scenic lakes throughout the city, outdoor activity, and a terrific entertainment and restaurant scene."
The Manchester airport had non-stop service between Manchester and Minneapolis airports in the early 2000s on Northwest Airlines, which later merged with Delta.