I Find This Absolutely Unbelievable For A Major Modern Airline

I won't say that I do a ton of flying, but over the last year and a half, my flight-based travel has increased considerably.

During my travels, I had some pretty good experiences with my flight out of Minnesota to my various destinations. Even though my flight experiences were good, I found one particular aspect of this Twin Cities-based airline experience very odd for this modern era.

The story goes back to last year when I booked a direct flight from Minneapolis to Mexico for a wedding. I booked with Minnesota-based Sun Country Airlines because of the combination of a good price, the option of a direct flight, and a few other factors.

I opted for an upgraded seat, which offered a few nice amenities that added to what seemed like would have been a great flight experience even had I not upgraded. The Minnesota touches of having Caribou Coffee and Dot's Pretzels from across the Minnesota-North Dakota border on the snack and beverage offerings were kind of fun.

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I enjoyed the experience and I decided to use Sun Country for subsequent flying needs after that. I had equally pleasant experiences including between Minneapolis and Seattle last fall.

So, what is it that I find so unbelievable about Sun Country? If you've flown with them in recent years, you probably know they don't have a mobile app. According to the Star Tribune, the airline had an app until 2017, when they decided to get rid of it.

Sun Country is admittedly in the "budget airline" category, along with the likes of Frontier, Spirit, and Jet Blue. Guess what, they all have apps.

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Now, my app-free Sun Country experience wasn't awful by any means. Their website functioned pretty and I was able to load boarding passes into my phone's digital wallet. The ability to get flight information, updates about gates and departure times, or make changes without having to load up a website has become the standard in modern travel, and that was the missing piece that I found weird. Having to refresh a webpage or check your email for updates feels antiquated in these modern times.

Now, the good news is that Sun Country has apparently announced plans for a new mobile app. The Star Tribune reported in the spring of 2023 that they would be launching a new app either later in 2023 or early 2024. Well...it's nearly mid-2024, and no app yet. Also kind of weird.

In the Star Tribune story I mentioned before, the airline admitted they know passengers are shocked by the lack of a mobile app. Missing that now-expected travel tool is clearly a big reason they announced a year ago they are going to be launching a new app about seven years after getting rid of their old one.

Last year, when the Star Tribune talked to Sun Country, they didn't unveil any particular features to expect in this new app, but it will likely include the standard features most airline apps offer.

After being delayed from their teased "late 2023 to early 2024" timeframe, I'm curious to see when it actually launches. Like I said off the top, I've had multiple enjoyable experiences with Sun Country. I'm just hoping the join the rest of the modern travel world soon on this small, but valuable thing.