Sun Country Airlines is an American airline headquartered in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul suburb of Eagan, Minnesota and based at nearby Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport. The airline's main focus is flying Minnesotans to warmer destinations during the winter months, such as Florida and Mexico. In the summer months, flying people between Minneapolis and the east and west coast. It operates scheduled and charter flights to destinations in the United States, Mexico, and the Caribbean (including Cuba from 2015 and Costa Rica) as well as ad-hoc charters.

Sun Country's original staff consisted of sixteen pilots, sixteen flight attendants, three mechanics and one office person. The company's first president was Captain Jim Olsen, who also acted as Chief Pilot. His wife, Joan Smith-Olsen, acted as Chief Flight Attendant and Head of Inflight Operations. Jim Olsen retired from Sun Country in 2007.

Slow and deliberate expansion through the 1980s created steady profits for the company. In 1986 the company put into service its first wide-body aircraft, a 380-seat DC-10-40 leased from future competitor Northwest Airlines. The aircraft's intercontinental range enabled the company to fly international charters and also accommodate high demand on the company's popular Minneapolis to Las Vegas route that the Boeing 727 fleet could not handle.

In 1988 its headquarters were located on the grounds of the Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport.

Sun Country also provided ad-hoc charter lift to civic organizations, corporations, sports teams and virtually any other group that wanted to charter an aircraft. In 1989 Sun Country became a member of the Civil Reserve Air Fleet (CRAF) and flew many charters to support the Desert Storm operation from 1990 to 1991. For their efforts in supporting the operation, 130 of the company's employees were recognized by the United States Air Force.

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