Airline Insider · Founder · Builder · Author
Twenty-two years as an airline insider. One story that almost wasn't told.
About
Karyn spent 22 years at Sun Country Airlines, starting in day-of-departure operations and then growing her way through network planning, pricing, revenue management, and strategy. She started at a time when the airline was still young enough to remember what it meant to be scrappy. She watched it grow, pivot, and evolve.
When she discovered that nearly 25 hours of interviews with the founders and original Sun Country employees were sitting on a flash drive, carefully collected but with nowhere to go, she instantly saw something meaningful just waiting to be written. The fated flash drive filled with exclusive oral interviews is now a published book which documents the Sun Country story comprehensively for the first time. In addition to the interview content, the book includes never-before published photographs and additional historical details which build a comprehensive timeline of the airline and its place in the broader world of commercial aviation.
Today, Karyn is a startup co-founder at telos building generative AI solutions for airline commercial teams and writing for the company's editorial arm, the telos Journal. She remains deeply connected with the industry she knows and loves and lives with a deep belief that the best stories cut straight to the human heart behind the headlines.
Featured Work
Other WorkFrom the Ashes of Braniff to Sun Country Airlines
Foreword by Thomas Petzinger, Jr. · Author of Hard Landing
Cover art by Emory Kaveckis
We're actively collecting more stories for a possible second edition of Minnesota's Phoenix. Do you have a Sun Country story to tell, or would you like to be added to our mailing list for updates? We'd love to hear from you!
This publication is an independent work and is not affiliated with, sponsored by, or endorsed by Sun Country Airlines.
The Story
Within eight months of Braniff's collapse, Sun Country was flying. Three months later, it was profitable.
In the spring of 1982, Braniff International became the first major U.S. carrier to succumb to post-deregulation pressure, leaving more than 1,000 Minnesota-based airline employees out of work overnight. Meeting in living rooms and local establishments, a group of former Braniff pilots and flight attendants decided to do something unthinkable: they would build their own airline.
Minnesota's Phoenix tells their incredible story for the first time, through exclusive interviews with the men and women who willed it into existence — buying catering supplies at Sam's Club, cleaning planes by hand, and betting their way into aircraft acquisition.
The book itself began similarly to how Sun Country did: with a few determined people, a shared goal, and an idea that refused to stay small. Oftentimes while writing, Karyn found herself drawing on the example of the founders, two of whom were women building an airline while raising children and holding families together. She saw their tenacity not as history but as instruction.
The announcement in January of 2026 that Allegiant will acquire Sun Country, sunsetting the brand and the name, makes the timing of this project feel both poignant and essential.
Collaborators
Original Sun Country Flight Attendant
Oral Historian
One of Sun Country's original flight attendants, Maggie spent years tracking down the founders and recording their stories before they were lost. She knew in her heart that the founders' story needed to be told.
Sun Country Flight Attendant
Oral Historian
A chance conversation midflight with Maggie transformed Jennifer from colleague to co-conspirator and interviewer. Her enthusiasm turned a retirement project into a fully realized history project.
Press & Media
For interview requests or media opportunities, please reach out directly.
Influences