Two top Sun Country Airlines executives left their jobs this week for opportunities outside the company, including Chief Financial Officer Dave Davis taking over as CEO of Florida-based budget airline Spirit.
Davis, also Sun Country’s president, informed fellow members on the company’s board of directors of his immediate resignation on Wednesday. He has worked for the Minneapolis-based leisure carrier since 2017.
Also leaving Sun Country is Chief Operating Officer Gregory Mays. He will remain with the airline temporarily to ease the transition of his responsibilities.
CEO Jude Bricker said Sun Country’s leadership team “transformed the airline into what it is today — a low-cost airline with a quality consumer product — and a unique business model."
“We have doubled our fleet, doubled our number of destinations, created a publicly held company with an independent board of directors, and created a third business line for cargo,” Bricker said in a statement. He pointed to Davis and Mays as instrumental to the company’s string of successes, which have come despite bouts of strong turbulence throughout the aviation industry.
Davis joined Sun Country more than seven years ago after leaving a post as chief executive of a Los Angeles media company called Anuvu for roughly 4½ years. He previously worked in airline finance executive roles as chief financial officer for Northwest Airlines and US Airways, companies that went on to form Delta and American Airlines, respectively.
Bricker applauded Davis on his efforts to keep costs low for Sun Country and offer greater value to travelers, pointing to his contributions toward Sun Country’s record of 10 straight profitable quarters.
Under Mays’ leadership, Bricker said the company improved its technical operation processes and helped ensure a continued commitment toward safety. He said Mays also had been key in Sun Country’s partnership with Amazon, through which the airline has grown its cargo transport business.
