Direct Air
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| Founded | 2006 (as Myrtle Beach Direct Air) | |||
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| Focus cities | ||||
| Destinations | 18 | |||
| Company slogan | When Time Matters...GO DIRECT! | |||
| Headquarters | Myrtle Beach, South Carolina | |||
| Key people | Ed Warneck Judy Tull |
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| Website | visitdirectair.com | |||
Direct Air, formerly Myrtle Beach Direct Air, is an airline business based in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, USA[1][2] Direct Air leases aircraft with charter airlines. Its main base is Myrtle Beach International Airport. Direct Air's flights are being operated by Sky King, Inc., Xtra Airways, World Atlantic Airlines, and USA Jet.
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[edit] History
On November 14, 2006, Direct Air announced nonstop service from Myrtle Beach to Newark, Niagara Falls, and Plattsburgh, New York. On March 7, 2007, Direct Air (Myrtle Beach Direct Air at the time) started flying. The flights were being operated by Sky King, Inc. on Boeing 737-200 aircraft until May 14, 2007 when Direct Air ended its relationship with Sky King, Inc.
Direct Air's flights are now operated primarily by Xtra Airways and Sky King, Inc. Boeing 737-400 aircraft. Occasionally, especially during peak travel periods, additional other operating carriers and aircraft types are used. These have included USA Jet, Dynamic Airways, Vision Airlines, and Miami Air.
[edit] Areas of operation
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.
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 (currently service is offered seasonally to Worcester and Niagara Falls). In 2011 they became the first airline to offer commercial air service from Florida's Lakeland Linder Regional Airport since the 1970's.
[edit] Destinations
[edit] 
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)
[edit] Former Destinations
- Hagerstown, Maryland (Hagerstown Regional Airport)
- 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]
[edit] 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]
| Aircraft | Total | Passengers | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Boeing 737-400 | 2 | 150 | both owned and operated by Xtra Airways N43XA, N271AD |
| Boeing 737-400 | 1 | 144 | owned and operated by Sky King, Inc. N773AS |
| McDonnell Douglas MD-83 | 2 | 155 | both owned and operated by World Atlantic Airlines N802WA, N803WA |
[edit] Incidents
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]
[edit] 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.
[edit] External links
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