Sun Country Airlines starts service to Albuquerque

Jun. 26—Sun Country Airlines' first flight into Albuquerque from Minneapolis last month was 86% full — a good sign for an inaugural flight, said Daniel Jiron, the business development manager at the Albuquerque International Sunport.

The Minneapolis-based airlines will fly to and from Albuquerque from June through the end of August, with additional flights during Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta.

The 186-seat Boeing 737-800 aircraft will fly nonstop back and forth between Minneapolis and Albuquerque on Wednesdays and Saturdays.

"It's very much a leisure-focused airlines," Jiron said. "They find (Wednesday and Saturday flights) are most efficient."

Jiron said the Sunport worked for about 18 months with Sun Country to establish a relationship to bring the carrier to Albuquerque.

He said Sun Country's first return flight to Minneapolis was 60% occupied, which was a good turnout for the airline's first flight out of Albuquerque.

"We are pleased to add Albuquerque to our route map," Greg Mays, Sun Country's chief operating officer, said in a statement. "I know Minnesotans will enjoy the state's outdoor beauty, hiking, and all it has to offer, including the arts community in Santa Fe. We also invite folks to come north for the summer and enjoy our Land of 10,000 Lakes."

Jiron said that Delta Air Lines currently flies passengers from Albuquerque to Minneapolis for nine months out of the year and stops the flight in January, February and March.

He said ultimately people from Albuquerque and the Minneapolis-area will take advantage of the new flight.

"There's two-way traffic. It's not just people trying to get to Minnesota," Jiron said. "There's a lot of Minnesotans who want to visit Albuquerque."