When I said of Direct Air, ‘It sucks, but it’s cheap’, someone on Twitter said that could be their tagline. Instead, their tagline is ‘When time matters, go Direct’, which… well, not so much.
What’s Direct Air?
Direct Air is a basic, charter air service that offers flights to the public at low rates, starting around $99 US. They originally tended towards flights around the continental U.S., with the bulk of them moving travellers from the frigid north to the more temperate south.
They’re now branching out in that direction, offering flights to Nassau, Bahamas and San Juan, Puerto Rico along with the usual Florida trips. The fare from Niagara Falls, NY to Nassau is $159 US each way, which is not too bad, but frequent sales and voucher offers make a better deal possible.
How was it?
We’ve flown Direct once, from Niagara Falls to Florida. Due to generosity, we’ll be flying with them again… and though we’re not super picky and are willing to put up with a lot for a deal, I have to say, I’m really leery of giving money to a company that landed us at an airport 45 minutes away from the one we were supposed to land at in the middle of the night.
You seriously landed at the wrong airport?
Our flight was meant to put down in Punta Gorda – relatively near my parent’s house in North Port. About 10 minutes into our decent we were told ‘weather problems’ would have us landing in Fort Myers, a 45 minute drive away.
This sent most people’s plans off the rails, and as soon as we touched down, the plane was abuzz with people on the phone, trying to figure out how to get to the airport we were supposed to be at from the airport we ended up at. From the way people were talking, this did not sound as if it were the first time this sort of thing had happened – and more than a few people uttered the infamous ‘I’m never flying this airline again’.
The crew asked if people wanted a bus provided to transport them to Punta Gorda in a ‘should we go ahead and book that?’ sort of way, as if there were no plans to offer transportation to passengers in the event of redirection. We were lucky enough to have an airport driver willing to come get us in the dead of night – and he told us that the flights got redirected all the time simply because Punta Gorda’s airport was too small to service the number of flights per day. I’m still not sure what happened to the other passengers who were left without a ride at Ft. Myers.
On the way back home, we faced no major diversions… though they did hold the plane for nearly an hour for three passengers just hanging out in the café. But that’s a whole other issue.
Aside from the airport mix-ups – when I say the airline is basic, it’s $2 bottle-of-water basic, and the menu to order from is not large. It’d be best to pack a lunch and some snacks, because there’s not much to be had on the plane, even if you pay for it.
To sum up:
If Direct Air gets you to where you’re going, the minor issues and incompetencies aren’t going to bother you. However, you might be rolling the dice as to where you end up. NB: We did not check luggage.
Visit Direct Air at: http://www.visitdirectair.com/
Have you flown Direct Air? Had a similarly bad experience on another airline? Let us know in the comments!
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Booked a flight for the whole family month in advance to visit my parents in Florida. Departure day snow in forecast, direct air website says 1 hour delay.
2 hour trip to the airport in pretty rough conditions, all the while checking the internet and flight still listed “delayed”.
Finally made it in to the un-plowed parking lot and in to the terminal to find out all flights are cancelled, apparently for a while now, all the while website still says “delayed”
2 hour trip home, over 4 hours total in the car with my 3 year old, all because they can’t be bothered to update the website.
Today up at 7am and calling every hour, after 45 minutes on hold they tell us to call back in an hour… Finally at Noon they tell me flight it scheduled for 8pm, I ask:”Is this my cancelled flight from yesterday?” “Oh no, sorry, there is nothing going out tonight”
Now my head explodes. No supervisor on duty, no answers except “We will call you”
“When??”
“They are trying to get an aircraft, waiting for head count”
“Why head count, don’t you know how many tickets you sold?”
“Some people don’t want to fly anymore”
Just been updated that flight been cancelled and can not be re-booked, we are now NOT going anywhere. 2 week vacation in Florida is now over.
My advice: If you want to save money DO NOT fly Direct Air, it will cost more in a long run.
Booked Dec. 30/Jan 9 two-way flights to San Juan with Direct Air back in July. On Nov. 14, Direct Air called and informed me that the flight is cancelled due to not enough passengers. Direct Air promised to refund the full fares to my credit card. However, after two full weeks, there is no sign of money yet. Tried to call Direct Air, and you got either ‘All our circuit switch boards are busy’ or ‘All agents are busy’, the call is cutoff after that.
What a crap. Will never deal with Direct Air again.
I have flown with Directair before and never had any problems. The staff were friendly and we got what we paid for…Basic flight for a good price…We’re going with them again this month..Cheers
@Stephen, the only real problem we ever had with them was the last minute communication of the change in our airport, and their disorganization at having something in place to help address that sort of thing – as I understand it the airport they land at is busy and this sort of thing has happened before.
But we’re flying with them again this month.
Hope we both make out well.
These people should rot in Hell. We booked flights months ago, and predicated on getting that affordable airfare, booked cruises out of San Juan, PR. The flight days were a bit inconvenient, so we had to book 3 nights of hotels as well. Two on the front end, one on the back. I waited to book the (non-refundable) rooms until last week. Yesterday, DirectAir sends us an email claiming they’ve tried to call us (a lie) and when we call, they tell us our flights are cancelled. Just like that. Too bad. I emailed corporate and they sent back a ‘so sorry’ form letter. Do NOT book with these guys, in the long run you won’t save a thing.
Direct Air is absolute crap. It’s not even worth the money you save when you have constant headaches to deal with. We have been buying their Family Ties vouchers, which allow you to fly “anytime you want” within a year span. Only problem is, they have no flights. When you do find a flight you want, they only have a certain number of seats allowed for the vouchers. You can’t get through to customer service to even book it. They put you on hold for hours, then hang up, or there is a recording saying all agents are busy, then they hang up. If you ever do get to book a flight, they usually cancel it, then ask if you want to rebook for the next month. They are the absolute worst company I have ever dealt with. They pretty much just suck ass.
I was outright robbed! I baught 12 segments on the family ties program, the tickets expire April 30 2012, I have been trying to book for 3 months. I have been able to use only 2 segments
The last episode lasted 6 hours and 4-5 phone calls, I was ready to accept any flights they had. The agent would tell me the flights were available, walk me through the booking process and conveniently hang up. This happened 4 times, finally someone came on the phone and told me to buy the latest special for $79 each way. What I currently own is unbookable, at least he was honest!
It really does sound like it’s either minor inconvenience or complete nightmare with this outfit. In fact I don’t think I’ve ever had a flight with them not have some sort of issue come up, but what you’ve been through and what some of the other commentators have shared, really paints a bleak picture of the type of service you can expect with them. I’m hoping from here on in we’re lucky and don’t have to use Direct Air again. Hope your next trip is hassle free.