We try to avoid paying excess baggage fees whenever we can. While there’s no choice but to pay when it comes to checked baggage, carry-on baggage is a different matter. Some airlines make the same consideration of letting you take more items if you pay to take those inside the cabin while others refuse entry any time your luggage passes the carry-on size rules.
Let’s find out what the allowance limits are for Sun Country Airlines so you don’t experience any delay in your travel plans.
Sun Country Airlines Checked Baggage Size and Weight
Sun Country Airlines does not allow any checked baggage for free. The checked baggage size should be 50 lbs. It has to be within 62 inches in dimensions. On top of the usual baggage allowance rules, if the bag is overweight or oversized, an excess baggage fee is charged.
Sun Country Airlines Carry On Size and Weight
A total of 2 carry-on items are allowed inside Sun Country Airlines’ cabin. One free personal item and one free carry-on bag.
The carry-on bag should be no more than 24 inches in length, 16 inches in width, and 11 inches in height. This includes handles or any other part of the baggage that could protrude. The bag should not weigh more than 33 lbs. The carry-on bag fits into the overhead bin.
A personal item you carry could be a long purse, laptop bag, or laptop. The item can not be longer than 16 inches, wider than 11 inches, and taller than 8 inches. The bag checker at the Sun Country Airport would let you know if your bag is exceeding these limits.
What you do want to remember is that the space for bags in the overhead bin is limited. On the occasion the entire compartment is filled, your bag would be tagged as checked baggage. You will not have to pay any amount for it in that case.
Sun Country Airlines Carry-On Policy For Pets
Small-sized dogs and pets are allowed inside the cabin of the aircraft provided you are traveling domestically. This is only possible if you reserve a place for your pet in advance and are willing to pay a total of $125. This fee is non-refundable on the off chance you do not bring your pet ultimately.
A passenger is allowed to bring only one pet. A walk-up request is only accepted if there are 4 overall pets on the aircraft. An additional $19 is also applicable in that case.
Sun Country Airlines Excess Baggage Fees
In general, Sun Country Airlines demands checked baggage fees for one piece of luggage. It cannot be more than 50 lbs in weight and has to come within 62” dimensional parameters. The fee for one checked bag is $20 if paid online and $25 if paid at the airport. A piece of second luggage would cost $30 online. Depending on how many checked baggages you add, the price increments would be the same.
For carry-on baggage, if you bring a personal item that does not follow the airline guidelines- it should be small enough to fit in under the seat to your front- baggage fees are charged. It could be anything from $25 to $40 depending on size and payment method.
If your checked baggage weight is more than 50 lbs, you would have to pay an extra $20. This is only if the weight is still limited to 60 lbs. A bag weighing almost 100 lbs could possibly have a charge of $60 extra.
Then, there is the matter of failing to bring a suitcase that is less than 62 inches in dimension. The charge for oversized bags could reach $100 with ease.
Now, if somehow the luggage size exceeds 100 lbs, it won’t be accepted at all.
Sun Country Policy For Other Items
Other than regular luggage and bags, there are some items allowed by Sun Country airlines that don’t fall into either category. Often, you can only bring these items if you are replacing them for the checked baggage.
Musical Instruments
A small musical instrument can be brought inside the cabin of Sun Country Airlines if the overhead compartment or the space in the seat in front of the passenger has sufficient room.
If the musical instrument you are carrying is too large to fit inside the cabin, passengers are primarily left with two options.
A separate ticket can be purchased for the instrument and it has to be inside a proper case. You can keep the instrument on the seat and you have to make sure there is no chance of the item causing any injury to other passengers.
Despite a seat ticket, the instrument still has to be under 100 lbs to be allowed inside the cabin. Not to mention, there has to be a divider in front of the seat you will keep the instrument on. You will have to talk with the airport staff beforehand to know if the Sun country aircraft would have dividers.
You can take the musical instrument as a checked item too. In this case, the rules applied for checked baggage would be applied to the instrument. So, the weight and size limit has to be followed. Additionally, the instruments are considered liability items due to their fragile nature. If they are not packed properly before being handed to the cargo, any damage would not be the fault of the airlines.
Sports Equipment
You are allowed to board only one sports equipment item with your onboard. You will have to register the equipment as checked baggage and it would have to be substituted in place of one of your checked baggage. As such, checked baggage fees would be applied to the equipment.
A sports-like Hockey comes with multiple parts. You can put the entire arrangement in a piece of single luggage and count it as one checked baggage. The same applies to windsurfing, skiing, golfing, fishing, lacrosse, and camping equipment. Surfboarding and wakeboarding equipment is a little different in that you can count them as checked baggage but you have to remove the battery beforehand. If you do take the batteries with you, they have to be drained.
Then, there is the matter of the bicycle. Oftentimes, it is an oversized item so you have to subject yourself to Sun Country Airlines’s excess baggage fees.
Ammunition Policies
Sun Country Airlines checked baggage allowance includes certain firearms and ammunition. At the counter where you have to check in, you will have to list the firearms you will be carrying with you. The firearms also have to be disassembled as much as possible. Anything that can be taken apart, should be.
The container to keep the firearms has to be a locked case and has to be of tough material.
For ammunition, you can bring it in the package it originally came in, completely untouched. Otherwise, you have the option of choosing special packaging meant to contain ammunition that one might want to bring with them to the airport.
If the ammunition is not packed in its proper storage, the airport authorities would not allow you to bring them in.
Policies For Military
Those who are serving in the US Military actively are allowed to have up to two checked baggage free of any charge. However, the person must have a valid military ID card with them and inform the airport authorities before boarding.
A free carry-on bag is also feasible to be brought in by military personnel. The checked baggage fee or carry-on baggage fees is still not applicable even if the maximum weight for the bag is exceeded or the bag is oversize. Sun Country reservations policy would only allow it for the first two bags though.
Sun Country Airlines Policy For Other Cabin Carry-On Items
There are a couple of items you are allowed to bring inside the cabin even if you have a personal item and bag with you. You will only need to inform the authorities days in advance that you will be carrying them.
Liquid Items
You are allowed to enter the cabin with a couple of liquid items. However, it has to be inside a plastic bag with 1-liter capacity. Not to mention it has to be completely transparent so the authorities could see the item inside. You can carry them in smaller containers inside the plastic bag, though the container can not pass the 100 ml mark.
The liquids you can bring with you include any important or needed medicine. The medicine should come with your prescriptions and should be in proper packaging. Juice and gels are also allowed inside the cabin. If you have an infant with you, baby food, milk, and other basic needs for your children can be met without any objections.
Support Items
If you need any kind of support device, this means crutch, canes, etc, or even braces, you can bring it onto the cabin in excess of your baggage allowance and personal item. Only, Federal Aviation Administration has standards set on how these items should be stored and you have to follow them. It would also do to inform the airlines that you are in need of these aids.
If you have a child with you, it is possible to check in a baby stroller. You can do so by the gate or at the counter. In both cases, there would be no charge for the stroller. It is counted in addition to any luggage you are carrying.
Carry-on Food
You could either bring food you cooked at home or brought on the way to the airport. You could also buy food from the airport lounge and take them to the aircraft. Solid food of any kind would be allowed inside without any kind of checking or complaints from the airport staff. Liquid food is a different matter though.
Anything that can spill inside the cabin is considered liquid. So, even if you have something like jelly with you, you will have to follow the rules of carrying them in 100 ml containers.
Sun Country Airlines Restricted Items
Every airline has a couple of restricted items that can not be taken to the aircraft. Then, there are some that can not enter the airport at all, let alone the cabin. Any substance that can catch on fire at the slightest touch shall not be allowed inside the aircraft or cargo. This means all kinds of flammable objects, poisons, explosives, gas of the compressed kind, and so on.
Lithium batteries can enter the cargo if you drain all the batteries. Fireworks, liquid oxygen, pesticide, etc have to be properly packaged to be allowed. Matches can not be taken inside the cabin but to the cargo. Then, lighters for cigarettes are allowed inside the cabin provided you don’t use that.
Additionally, you are advised not to bring anything that can be taken as a threat to other passengers. By this, we mean knife, scissors, baseball bat, or anything with, particularly sharp or blunt heads. This is to ensure that passengers don’t face any safety issues.
Online Check-In
The window for check-in for your flight online begins exactly 25 hours before your flight departure time. At about one hour before your flight is set to leave, the option for check-in closes. Contacting Sun Country reservations for any additional information can be done through their website or the number they have provided there.
While you can check-in at the airport, it is always wise to do so online. The cost for online check-in tends to be lower than airport ticket counter reservations.
If you are early enough and are willing to pay for your seats instead of letting the airline decide, you have a total of 3 options when it comes to the rows. You can choose the exit row which is what lots of people with mobility support tend to do. You can reserve a seat on any of the standard rows or you can choose the best seating option. Of course, if you opt for the best, you might have to pay a little more for the seating than regular.
If you have a musical instrument that you are taking as a carry-on or have reserved a seat for, you need to remember to inform the airport authorities. The main reason is that you are going to need a seat divider as you don’t want your instrument to pose any problem for other passengers.
Final Thoughts
For the most part, Sun Country Airlines has the same policies as most airlines traveling in and out of the United States. The way the airline differs is that when it comes to baggage, they are not willing to compromise with the price. Some airlines allow the first one or two checked baggage without any fee but that is not the case for Sun Country Airlines. However, we have to keep in mind that as the airline does not ask for much when it comes to airplane fare, this is where concessions are made.
