Direct Air stays positive about RFD

By Thomas V. Bona

BusinessRockford.com

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ROCKFORD — Direct Air came to Rockford last year with big plans and snazzy airplanes.

But it came at one of the worst times in passenger-airline history, with the recession keeping people at home. So the airline made abrupt changes — switching to older airplanes, adding stops and ultimately canceling flights. It saw one route only moderately successful, and another fail altogether.

Still, as the company gears up for its second year at Chicago Rockford International Airport, officials are optimistic about what’s ahead.

Flights to Punta Gorda, Fla., resume next month, boosted to three times a week. And although trips to Myrtle Beach, S.C., might not return anytime soon, other destinations could be added later on.

“We figured more people are aware of us now going into our second year,” said Ed Warneck, president of the Myrtle Beach-based company. “We want to go anywhere we can go and expand and be prosperous.”

Punta Gorda is near Fort Myers, a long-sought destination for local snowbirds and other sun-lovers. More than 8,000 passengers used the route from December through July, according to airport data, when it was suspended because of low seasonal demand. Planes were on average slightly less than 70 percent full, which is below the industry average, but not surprising for the first year of a route.

The addition of a third weekly flight this season is an indication of Direct Air’s confidence, though. Warneck said Direct Air is committed to flying through April, and then will revisit the route.

However, Myrtle Beach saw slightly more than 2,500 passengers in its five-month run this year, with planes less than half full on average.

“We gave it a good run as best we could for a while, and we had to back up on that,” Warneck said.

Direct Air is a scheduled charter airline, which means it books the tickets and does the marketing, but hires someone else to operate the flights.

When service to Punta Gorda started, it was on new Virgin America planes, featuring mood lighting, in-seat entertainment centers and a first-class area. Warneck said the planes were “like walking into a nightclub.”

But at times, Direct Air switched to older, more conventional planes. Now, Direct Air has ended its contract with Virgin. Rockford-Punta Gorda flights will be on 150-seat Boeing 737s operated by XTRA Airways.

Rockford Airport Executive Director Bob O’Brien said it’s good Direct Air is focusing on one route and being conservative with its schedule rather than booking flights long in advance.

“We’ve said to Direct Air, ... ‘We don’t want you to be partially successful on two routes, we want you to be hugely successful on one,’ ” O’Brien said. “We don’t want to grow at a rate that none of them are successful.”

Direct Air flies to 14 cities, including Rockford and Springfield. All of its routes go to Punta Gorda, Myrtle Beach or Orlando/Sanford, Fla.

Warneck said they’re looking at opening a couple more destination cities, and Rockford would be considered for those. But it depends on how airline demand picks up and the popularity of its existing routes, he said.

Gary Quill, director of the Charlotte County Airport in Punta Gorda, called Direct Air “an economic shot in the airport’s arm.” He thinks service can be successful regardless of what airplane they use.

“In a couple hours, you’re in sunny Florida,” he said. “We hope that people who skipped a vacation or stayed close to home last year will (take a vacation) this year.”

Contact staff writer Thomas V. Bona at 815-987-1343 or tbona@rrstar.com.

MULTIMEDIA
Direct Air's 2009 numbers

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