- Direct Air
-
Direct Air IATA
--ICAO Callsign Founded 2006 (as Myrtle Beach Direct Air) Hubs Focus cities Destinations 18 Company slogan When Time Matters...GO DIRECT! Headquarters Myrtle Beach, South Carolina Key people Ed Warneck
Judy TullWebsite visitdirectair.com Direct Air, formerly Myrtle Beach Direct Air, is a business based in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, USA[1] It used to market domestic charter airline service using the aircraft of charter airlines.[2] In Spring 2009, Direct Air started to operate regular scheduled flights. These services continue to exist today. Direct Air leases aircraft with charter airlines. Its main base is Myrtle Beach International Airport. In December 2007 the airline opened a focus city at St. Petersburg-Clearwater International Airport, but closed the station in June 2008. Currently, Direct Air's flights are being operated by Sky King, Inc., Xtra Airways, Sun Country Airlines, and USA Jet.
Contents
History
On November 14, 2006, it was announced service from Myrtle Beach to Newark, Niagara Falls, and Plattsburgh, NY would be flown nonstop. On March 7, 2007, Direct Air (Myrtle Beach Direct Air at the time) started flying.
From March 7 until May 14, 2007, flights were being operated by Sky King, Inc. on Boeing 737-200 aircraft. Direct Air soon ended its relationship with Sky King, Inc. Direct Air opened a secondary hub in St. Petersburg, FL, but closed the station in 2008. Direct Air also used Virgin America Airbus A319 and A320's. Virgin America soon took them back in order to expand more of their domestic routes. Today, Direct Air's flights are operated primarily by Xtra Airways (Boeing 737-400) but also by Sky King, Inc. (737-400), Vision Airlines (737-800), and Dynamic Airways (McDonnell Douglas MD-88). In winter 2009 they started flying from Melbourne, FL to Niagara Falls and Punta Gorda. In the 2010-2011 winter season they began operating flights from Palm Beach International Airport to several of their northern origin airports, including Worcester, Kalamazoo, and Rockford.
Destinations
United States- Lakeland (Lakeland Linder Regional Airport)[3]
- Orlando (Orlando Sanford International Airport)
- Fort Myers/Punta Gorda (Charlotte County Airport) Focus City
- West Palm Beach (Palm Beach International Airport) Focus City
- Rockford (Chicago Rockford International Airport)
- Springfield, Illinois (Abraham Lincoln Capital Airport)
- Newark (Newark Liberty International Airport) [seasonal]
- Columbus (Rickenbacker International Airport) [seasonal]
- Toledo (Toledo Express Airport)
Caribbean
- Puerto Rico
- San Juan – San Juan International Airport [begins May 2]
Former Destinations
- St. Petersburg-Clearwater (St. Petersburg-Clearwater International Airport) — Former focus city; closed in June 2008.
- Washington, D.C. (Dulles International Airport) — Sales suspended indefinitely due to low demand. Service was scheduled to begin on February 4, 2010.[4]
Fleet
As Direct Air is a business classed as a virtual airline (economics), it has no true aircraft fleet upon its own FAA / DOT operating certificate. Instead, the Direct Air business model uses the services of the following airlines aircraft (as of 14 March 2010):[5]
Direct Air fleet Aircraft Total Passengers Notes Boeing 737-400 2 150 both owned and operated by Xtra Airways
N43XA, N271ADBoeing 737-400 1 144 owned and operated by Sky King, Inc.
N773ASIncidents
October 15, 2011 : Direct Air flight from Lakeland Linder Regional Airport to Niagara Falls International Airport operated by Sky King, Inc. lost cabin pressure approximately one hour into the flight. Oxygen masks on board failed to deploy, and several passengers passed out, complained of chest pains, shortness of breath, or other issues related to the loss of pressure. The flight returned to Lakeland, FL. After landing in Lakeland, mechanics attempted to fix the plane, and it took off again approximately 5 hours later. The second flight experienced the same air pressurization issues 20 minutes into the flight, again causing passengers to pass out as oxygen masks again failed to deploy. The flight returned, again, to Lakeland, FL. There were no deaths, but at least one person was hospitalized with shortness of breath. Eventually, another plane was chartered to make the flight to Niagara Falls.[6]
References
- ^ "Contact Us." Direct Air. Retrieved on July 18, 2010.
- ^ "Directory: World Airlines". Flight International: p. 53. 2007-04-10.
- ^ Chambliss, John. Direct Air Expects Lakeland Linder to Become a Hub of Tourism, theledger.com, March 30, 2011
- ^ Direct Air suspends flights from Melbourne to D.C., FloridaToday.com, retrieved 2010-Feb-06
- ^ Flights - Our Aircraft, visitdirectair.com
- ^ Josh Boose (2011-10-21). "Passengers On Nightmare Flight Speak Out". WGRZ. http://www.wgrz.com/news/article/138697/37/Passengers-On-Nightmare-Flight-Speak-Out. Retrieved 2011-10-22.
External links
Mainline Sub-Brands
(Mistaken as Airlines)Alaska Horizon • Alaska SkyWest • American Connection • American Eagle • Continental Connection · Continental Express • Delta Connection • Frontier Express (d/b/a Frontier) • United Express • US Airways ExpressPublic Chartering Brokers &
Joint-Venture Associations
(Mistaken as Airlines)Internet Based Travel
Companies and Booking Systems
(Often mistaken as Airline CRS's)CheapOair • Dohop • Expedia • Funjet Vacations • Kayak.com • OneTravel • Orbitz • Priceline • Skyscanner • travelocity • Vacation ExpressAir Subsidiaries, Airlines within an
Airline, & Commuter / Regional Divisions
(Mistaken as Airlines)Air Organizations & Government
(Mistaken as Airlines)Categories:- Airlines of the United States
- Companies based in South Carolina
- Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
