Sun Country is Raising Bag Fees Soon … With a Positive Twist

One by one, nearly all the major U.S. airlines hiked their fees to check a bag this winter up to $35 or more each way within the U.S. Sun Country, too, will soon charge more to check a bag or bring a carry-on, but the Minnesota low-cost carrier is doing something the bigger airlines aren't – and that's a good thing.
While Sun Country is set to raise bag fees for flights departing April 30 and onward, the airline isn't raising prices for travelers who prepay for a carry-on or checked bag online during checkout. So until the airline raises those rates, too – and a spokeswoman says there are no plans to do so – Sun Country flyers may not have to pay another dime.
That's right: Pay for your carry-on or checked bag when you buy your Sun Country ticket,  and your bags won't cost any more than they do today. Sure, Sun Country might charge more for bags than its hometown competitor, Delta. But these are easy savings.
 

 
It's all spelled out on the airline's bags and optional services page and dedicated baggage calculator:

Soon, adding either a carry-on bag or checked luggage during check-in will cost $50 – a $5 increase
Wait until you get to the airport, and that $5 hike brings it to $55
The cost of checking a second or third bag with Sun Country, meanwhile, will jump by another $10 to at least $60 – or $65 at the airport

That's largely all in line with the increases bigger airlines like Alaska , American , Delta , and others announced earlier this year – though Sun Country actually set these increases in motion last fall, long before the rest of the industry raced to raise fees.
But so long as you add those bags when you purchase your Sun Country ticket, nothing is changing.
Sun Country's baggage rates during online checkout vary from route to route, so the price you'll pay during checkout hinges on where you're going. In general, you can expect to pay anywhere between $25 and $50 when prepaying for a bag – with a checked bag typically costing a few bucks more than a carry-on with Sun Country.
But whether you fly from Minneapolis-St. Paul (MSP) to Phoenix (PHX) next week or in May when these changes take effect, you'll pay the same price: $34 each way for a carry-on bag or $36 to check luggage.
 
Bag fees on Sun Country aren't going up so long as you add them when you book
 
Sun Country spokeswoman Wendy Burt confirmed pre-paid luggage prices aren't increasing and added that's “where the vast majority of bags are purchased.”
Of course, nothing rules out Sun Country raising those fees to prepay for luggage down the line, even in the near future. But for now, Sun Country is bucking an industry trend even while it raises other baggage fees.
Low-cost carriers like Sun Country, Spirit, and Frontier are notorious for nickel-and-diming passengers with extra fees that only seem to go up. Sun Country itself rubbed customers the wrong way last year after we reported the airline had quietly introduced a “passenger interface charge” of at least $22 each way: essentially, a fee for booking flights online.
But by leaving prepaid baggage fees untouched, Sun Country stands out even against some legacy airlines. United Airlines and JetBlue have long offered customers a flat, $5 discount when prepaying for checked luggage. But as both airlines raised bag fees by $5 or more, the cost to add a bag before check-in also increased to $35.
 
Bottom Line
On paper, Sun Country is raising bag fees – surprise, surprise. Much like other carriers, most bags will soon cost you another $5 – whether you pack in a carry-on or check luggage. Those increases are set to take effect for flights on April 30 and onward.
But in practice, Sun Country flyers won't pay another dime for bags – at least so long as they pay for them while checking out online.