Direct Air..great sale but worth the risk???

[antkim]

Well we can fly non stop into Sanford for $544 (4 people!!!) r/t for our Jan vacation from Worcester. The airport is literally less than 5 min. from our house so talk about convenient!! HOWEVER based on our cruise/wdw plans we would need to fly in on Sat and return on Sun....our concern is the Sun return. IF THE WEATHER IS BAD (hello????Winter in NE and after this past ice storm I am even more paranoid!!) and our Sun flight is cancelled Direct Air says they will NOT add an additional flight...we would just have to try to get on the next flight home which is 4 DAYS later. For obvious reasons this has be concerned! LOL

Would you risk it? I am thinking that is I buy the air now I am going to do nothing but stress over bad weather until Jan!! BUT the price (not to mention the convenience!!!!!!!) is ooooo so tempting!!!!!!!

Kim

 

[poohbear8]

I know nothing about Direct Air, but I ended up with an extra day in Florida years ago in January. We were on our way to check out when the phone rang and it was my mom asking if we had seen the news. Turns out there was a major blizzard in DC and they had closed Dulles.

We spent the day just hanging out and thankfully we were able to get a room for a night. We were at a Moderate for a convention for DH. We ended up paying for that night, which was out of our budget, but it was that or stay at the airport with 2 little kids.

Based on that, I wouldn't risk it. If they don't offer another flight for days, you could be stuck paying for hotel and food for days or paying for everyone to fly home with someone else and it won't be cheap. Now if it was in the summer and the risk of a snowstorm was zero.....I might try it.

 

[goofy4tink]

Hi Kim!!! And that's the problem with Direct Air. If you can't get out on that Sunday, they have no other flights to put you on until Thursday!! From what I understand, they don't have the system in place to put you on another airline either. I love flying out of Worcester..it's terrific, and so very handy. I would love to have flown out of there in August, (my dd lives about 10 mins away on Lovell St.), but they didn't fly on the days I needed to fly..bummer.
But, I have talked to people who have flown Direct Air out of Worc and loved it. I would just be very hesitant about anything coming along that would prevent my getting home. Can you book the Sat flight coming home vs the Sunday??? That way you would have the extra day to get a flight home if need be.

 

[DebbieB]

I would be concerned about not getting on the flight and missing your cruise. With these small airlines, they don't have spare planes if there is a problem and they don't interline, which means they can't put you on another airline. If you go with them, be sure to get insurance.

 

[debster812]

I would not do it on a bet in Dec/Jan/Feb. We've traveled to FL from New England for the past 7 years. The past three years, we've had some manner of delay or cancellation either going TO Florida, or coming home FROM Florida. We were canceled on a Delta flight, and it took us three days to get out. Of course that was during February Vacation/President's Weekend.

I might risk it when snow was not an issue, and I had loose plans, (ie did not have to meet a cruise), but to get to a cruise, no way.

 

[ibela]

I'd look into trip insurance, this way it would cover booking another flight with a different airline if your flight got cancelled. Not sure if the cost of insurance would make it equal to (or greater than) the cost of booking with another airline altogether but worth considering. A lot of people on the Cruise thread use www . insuremytrip . com

Also, check with your credit card and see what kind of insurance they offer if you pay for the tickets on your card.

 

[Lewisc]

Carefully research travel insurance. Coverage for trip delay or trip interruption generally has specific limits. Your benefits may be limited to $100/day with a maximum of $500. Many (most?) policies don't guarantee to pay for another airline. Policies may exclude financial default for all airlines or for some airlines.

I wouldn't use Direct Air for a cruise. I might chance it for an extra trip, I'm willing to cancel.

to clarify; the purpose of trip delay/interruprtion insurance is to pay some of your extra costs such as hotels and meals during the time it takes for your airline to reschedule your flight.

I wouldn't count on the Thursday flight having enough empty seats to accomodate all of Sunday's passengers. You're plan B is probably to pay to fly another airline or pay $$$ for a one way car rental.

 

[TomD]

We are flying Direct air in August out of Worcester. Looking forward to it.

 

[Hopefully]

Personally I wouldn't risk it. Winter in NE is risky and I have heard the Worcester airport closes even before Logan (You know how hilly it is). Flying out of Worcester would be easier for us too, but it is not worth the worry for me.
Have a Great Trip

 

[dgaston]

Well the sale was just too good for me to ignore. Thanks for posting antkim. I just got roundtrip tickets for 4 of us Dec 26 to Jan 2 for $166.20 each! If the weather is bad, we'll have to suffer around Sanford for a bit, I guess. I had been trying to hold on for SWA, but we know how expensive they get around any New England holidays.

We flew Direct Air in Feb, and actually landed in snow in Worcester on our return. The crew was from San Diego, and were all excited about it. The pilot did a great job, even with all that hilly terrain.

 

[antkim]

Hey guys! Thanks for all the replies!! I have not been around in a few days....sorry!

Well dh and I decided we could not take the risk no matter how tempting! He is an RN and can not just miss an extra week of work which is very possible due to the airlines schedule. As goofy4tink mentioned (hey there...OK this is ironic. I dropped my boys off at my Mom's today and what shirt does she have on but the 2004 JERRY shirt!!!! I almost forgot about that poor guy!!!!) I could try to come home on Sat (we thought about it) but that would cut our WDW nights to 2 AND if the Sat flight is cancelled and the Sun flight is full then we are back to sqaure one!!

I just SOOOOOO wish this would have worked for the convenience! When I do the math the fare that Direct Air is offering is not much better than a Ding fare....once you add up the luggage cost and the transfers it may be just like getting a $79 fare on SW.....the biggest draw was the AMAZING convenience!! But the risk is not worth the next 6 months of worrying and BELIEVE ME that is all I will do....u know us "type A's"!!!

 

[goofy4tink]

Hey guys! Thanks for all the replies!! I have not been around in a few days....sorry!

Well dh and I decided we could not take the risk no matter how tempting! He is an RN and can not just miss an extra week of work which is very possible due to the airlines schedule. As goofy4tink mentioned (hey there...OK this is ironic. I dropped my boys off at my Mom's today and what shirt does she have on but the 2004 JERRY shirt!!!! I almost forgot about that poor guy!!!!) I could try to come home on Sat (we thought about it) but that would cut our WDW nights to 2 AND if the Sat flight is cancelled and the Sun flight is full then we are back to sqaure one!!

I just SOOOOOO wish this would have worked for the convenience! When I do the math the fare that Direct Air is offering is not much better than a Ding fare....once you add up the luggage cost and the transfers it may be just like getting a $79 fare on SW.....the biggest draw was the AMAZING convenience!! But the risk is not worth the next 6 months of worrying and BELIEVE ME that is all I will do....u know us "type A's"!!!

Was 'Jerry' really 5 years ago??? Wow, how time flies when you're having a good time.
I think you made the right choice. Worcester does fairly well in the snow, but I just wouldn't take the chance.

 

[Lewisc]

Well the sale was just too good for me to ignore. Thanks for posting antkim. I just got roundtrip tickets for 4 of us Dec 26 to Jan 2 for $166.20 each! If the weather is bad, we'll have to suffer around Sanford for a bit, I guess. I had been trying to hold on for SWA, but we know how expensive they get around any New England holidays.

We flew Direct Air in Feb, and actually landed in snow in Worcester on our return. The crew was from San Diego, and were all excited about it. The pilot did a great job, even with all that hilly terrain.

and if the weather is bad before your trip you'll have to cancel your trip or pay full fare with whatever airline has seats available.

 

[Brian Noble]

dh and I decided we could not take the risk no matter how tempting!

I think this is wise. I avoid Allegiant in the Winter out of Toledo for the same reason.

 

[dgaston]

and if the weather is bad before your trip you'll have to cancel your trip or pay full fare with whatever airline has seats available.

Guess that's the difference between optimism and pessimism and the left and right sides of the brain I will be prepared for all options.

 

[Lewisc]

Guess that's the difference between optimism and pessimism and the left and right sides of the brain I will be prepared for all options.

It's not being optimistic, or pessimistic. You got it right, it's being prepared.

I'd be tempted to give it a shot if this was an extra trip and I'm willing/able to cancel my trip if my flight gets cancelled. You have almost no shot of making your trip, with reasonable airfare, if your flight gets cancelled. My guess is Disney would work with you and reduce, or eliminate, cancellation penalties.

I wouldn't take the chance if was taking a cruise or renting DVC points. I'm not sure I'd take the chance if this is a once in a lifetime vacation. Given the escalating fuel costs airlines such as Direct may be disappearing.

 

[dgaston]

For us, this is just the Christmas trip because we have APs. We're off-property (not enough DVC points for that expensive time of year) and will make sure the cancellation policy will work for us. It's good for folks to be reminded about the risks especially for once in a lifetime, cruises (we once gave up SWA seats so a honeymoon couple could be assured of making their cruise), or non-cancellable reservations. I hope I'll be able to come back in January and briefly post about our 2nd positive experience with Direct Air. We loved the first trip with them.