Low-cost carrier Sun Country Airlines is planning to file for an initial public offering in April 2020, according to the airline's CEO.
The Minnesota-based airline, which is owned by private-equity firm Apollo Global Management, aims to become the first large-jet flying US airline to file for a public offering since Virgin America raised approximately $305 million in late 2014.
“We are small, and we are different,” Sun Country's chief executive officer Jude Bricker told Skift. “We just want to be ready for it, if it is open for us.
“If it’s not, we will wait.
“Our earnings are supportive, I think there’s a market for an airline that is growing.”
The airline was purchased by Apollo Global Management in December 2017, and has since cut costs and changed the model, dropping first class, adding fees.
The airline reported a net income of $27 million on $616 million in revenue last year, according to required filings by the U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics. It's an increase from the net income of $16 million on $518 million in revenue in 2016.
In an official statement, Sun Country said: “There are several options that our board of directors can take for the next step in our journey as an airline."