Direct Air any reviews!!!??

[walter]

Several Months ago we made reservations on Direct Air (Niagara Falls to Melbourne, FL) for Thanksgiving BUT Thursday we received a call stating that they cancelled our flight. When I asked for an explanation, they had none. First & last time!

 

[joelkfla]

Read the complaints on the BBB page for Direct Air, especially the ones BBB closed as "Company made reasonable effort, but consumer not satisfied".

Very enlightening as to this company's idea of customer service.

Seems to be a lot of very angry former Direct Air customers out there.

 

[goofy4tink]

A few thoughts....
It seems that there are a multitude of first time posters, who do not come back and post again, who came only to slam DirectAir. While I have no problem with negative reviews, it does come across as strange that someone would register here, only to give nasty, scathing reviews of a company and then leave. It is very suspicious to say the least.

Now...as to DirectAir business practices...I did check the BBB details. It would seem that DirectAir pretty much wouldn't budge from their stated policies. The consumer has to fully understand what they are buying before they pay for it.
The issue with DA is that it is basically a charter airline. I fly them out of Worcester. I had a good experience in April, and will report back when I return from WDW next month...flyinig DA then as well. BUT.....I fully realize what I am getting into when I buy from them. I will not fly DirectAir between the months of Nov and April. Waaaaay too much room for weather delays when flying out of Worcester!! I also realize that they fly only a few times each week. If something happens to the flight I booked, I am going to have to find alternative ways to my destination.
When we went to Orlando in April, we were cruising. Based on that, I booked our flights on Thursday. That way, if there were to be an issue with our flight down, we could just hop in the car and make the drive. Yes, we would have missed our US/IoA days, but we would have been in plenty of time for our Sunday departure cruise.

When flying an airline like DirectAir, you have to realize you aren't flying a huge airline, like Delta.

 

[OrangeCountyCommuter]

Don't waste your time flying with this airline. They are the most unorganized plane service I have ever seen. Terrible service --no customer service. You get delayed for hours and don't expect to talk to a person. Call corp office and don't expect to talk to a person. You have to write a letter to talk with them : (

And how much did you PAY for that ticket????

I love the view that tickets should be dirt cheap and then I expect Customer Service.

Airlines have the following costs

Plane and maintenance
Personnel

So... when you want "dirt cheap" the "personnel" side is what is run thin.. the FAA is not willing to let them get too cheap on mainteance LOL!

If you want "customer service" don't always go "GEE HONEY LOOK THEY ARE SO CHEAP!" Same thing with Spirit air.

Would I fly them, probably not but if I did I would realize it's "bare minium only" (and also that as a charter they have different regultions regarding cancellations, schedule changes etc...)

As for whining that "they won't change thier rules because MY sob story is so good" Hmm... if you didn't like the rules why did you buy? WAIT.... they were the cheapest LOL!

 

[Terry M]

I cannot beleive that a representative from Direct Air just called me and advised me that the flight I have booked for 2 months from now has been cancelled. When questioned why, he simply stated "lack of equipment". I said you can't just call someone and say you are cancelling their flight, I have already booked rooms and a cruise. "Sorry, there is nothing that can be done, the flight is cancelled." When I asked questions, he repeated the same lines over and over.
I asked to speak to his supervisor and he said "I am not permitted to escalate this call."
So here I am, 2 months before we leave on a prebooked holiday and Direct Air just cancels my flight and all he could say was "you will receive your refund on your card in 7 to 10 days.
BE WARNED, DIRECT AIR SUCKS!!!!!!

 

[DVC-Don]

My brother in law flew them out of Worcester and I picked them up at Sanford. He said he had no problems and said he'd fly them again. Just be aware it is a charter airline and has different rules to follow.

 

[nkereina]

Didn't read the whole thread but my grandparents frequently use Direct Air out of Niagara Falls to Orlando/Sanford and Ft. Myers. While they have never had a problem, IMO, it's more like a charter flight. The flights are only certain days and certain times, at least out of Niagara Falls. The flights I believe are usually on Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays and Mondays and they have one time in the morning and one time at night. Also keep in mind that I think this airport is a good 45 min to an hour drive to WDW, if you are renting a car. If you aren't renting a car, you will have to pay for car service since there is no ME, and it could be costly.

 

[TomD]

I have flown direct air a few times out of Worcester. The last time was this past Oct. No problems what so ever. Flew into Sanford. Booked a car at alamo. Full size It was $66.06 for the week.

I am booked to fly out of Plattsburg NY this April landing in Lakeview. Car rental prices from Lakeview are not as good. $300 for the week. Full size.

I am hoping for another no problem flight

I am

 

[goofy4tink]

DirectAir is not for everyone. They are basically a charter outfit. They are not the same as a 'regular' airline. When I fly DirectAir, I realize that there could very well be issues. For instance, when we flew with DirectAir last April, I booked my flights several days for arrival several days prior to our cruise. That way, if there was an issue, we could just hop in the car and drive....I like to leave a few days free at both ends just in case.
When we flew in Oct, it was basically fine. We were on a special program that allowed us to book specific seats...my dh booked his seperately, so he had to pay $10 each way to book his seat. When we got to Sanford, to fly home, we found that our prearranged seats had been given away!!!! Even though we arrived at the airport over 2 hrs prior to our flight. I was not a happy camper. They did give us exit row seats, which was nice since there was a lot more room there, and we were able to spread out since there were only the 4 of us in the two rows. But I did complain about dh's being charged for the seat.....they did refund his $10. The overall experience was fine. I would fly DirectAir again. It's not my favorite airline by any means. It is cheap, and you tend to get what you pay for. Pay $150 for r/t to Orlando, from Mass, and you have to understand you aren't going to be getting blue ribbon service.

 

[TomD]

. It's not my favorite airline by any means. It is cheap, and you tend to get what you pay for. Pay $150 for r/t to Orlando, from Mass, and you have to understand you aren't going to be getting blue ribbon service.

I respectfully disagree with this statement.

I have not found it much different then SW except for limited flights and cheaper fares. SW used to have cheap flights. I remember the $29 fares each way from Manchester to MCO.

Maybe I have just been lucky with DirectAir lately.