Karyn Fernandes

Karyn Fernandes spent over two decades with Sun Country Airlines, starting in 2003 and working her way through various departments before ultimately finding her sweet spot in Pricing and Revenue Management. Early in her career, Fernandes had the opportunity to work under founder Jim Olsen, whose steady leadership and practical wisdom left a lasting impression on her approach to the airline industry. She credits those years as foundational, shaping her belief in collaboration, transparency, and treating people well—values that became her compass as she grew up with the airline.

After starting her family, Sun Country was flexible, enabling Fernandes to work remotely, minimize her responsibilities, and focus on her kids. After a few years of raising three babies and homeschooling them a few years into elementary school, she returned to the office full-time. She felt more dedicated than ever to the airline that had offered her flexibility and provided space for her to grow personally, while continuing to build her subject matter expertise part-time. Once back full-time, Fernandes contributed to projects that helped modernize Sun Country’s tech stack; she managed partnerships with airlines around the globe and a novel bus company and navigated much growth and change.

Fernandes left Sun Country in early 2025 to join a small group of co-founders launching a Minnesota-based travel technology company. She continues to work in the industry she knows and loves and carries deep pride in the small part she has played in helping Sun Country endure throughout her twenty-two-year tenure.

As the primary narrative writer for Minnesota’s Phoenix, Fernandes brings her industry experience, passion for modern technology, storytelling clarity, love of writing, and respect for history to life.