Jude Bricker, CEO of Sun Country, is joining a growing chorus of low-cost airline bosses who are calling for more industry consolidation. He also isn’t ruling out a merger involving his own airline.
Bricker says Sun Country should “absolutely” be a willing participant in industry M&A activity, but noted that he doesn’t “spend a lot of time worrying about it.”
“I think the industry uniformly benefits from consolidation because it rationalizes capacity,” he said at a Bank of America investors summit on Tuesday. “But we’re small, we’re independent, [and] we’re weird. So we’re not a natural fit. There’s no puzzle piece that goes naturally anywhere.”
His comments come after Allegiant’s CEO said last week that the industry needs “less supply.”
‘Unsustainable’
Sun Country posted a net income of approximately $37 million in the first quarter, with its earnings being on the higher end compared to its low-cost peers. In addition to its scheduled airline business, the company maintains a larger charter and freighter operation.
“So Spirit [and] Frontier haven’t made operating cash flow since COVID. JetBlue is in that camp too,” he added during the event. “Allegiant is working on trying to go back into being an airline and down into their core business. There are two startups in the space that haven’t made money yet.”
Bricker called this saturation “irrational.”
“It’s unsustainable. … I think there needs to be some action. I’m kind of disappointed with the Spirit bankruptcy and what it produced,” he continued.
Although Bricker says he isn’t actively placing bids, he noted that “we’re gonna be ready to take advantage of any opportunities that are out there.”
