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New airline lands here

The carrier will focus on taking fliers to several vacation hot spots.

By STEVE HUETTEL, Times Staff Writer
Published September 20, 2007

CEO Judy Tull (left) and President Edward Warneck discuss the benefits of their new carrier Myrtle Beach Direct Air that will begin flying out of St. Petersburg-Clearwater International Airport on December 19th.
	[MARTHA RIAL | Times]

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A tiny start-up airline designed to bring tourists to South Carolina's best known beach town is adding Pinellas County as a second destination for sun-seeking vacationers.

Myrtle Beach Direct Air will station a 150-seat Boeing 737 at St. Petersburg/Clearwater International Airport and begin flying round trips to Myrtle Beach, S.C., Gulfport-Biloxi, Miss., and Niagara Falls, N.Y., in mid-December.

In March, the airline will bring a second jet and add nonstop Pittsburgh and Newark, N.J., flights to its local schedule. Myrtle Beach Direct will fly between two and five times a week to each destination and expects to bring 140,000 passengers a year through St. Petersburg/Clearwater International.

"We're just a little guy trying to grow with the community," said president Ed Warneck. "We're not going to be doing five flights a day from Newark to here."

That's fine with officials at the airport, which is rebounding from the loss of its two largest carriers, ATA and Southeast Airlines, more than two years ago.

After peaking at 1.3-million in 2004, passenger numbers plummeted to less than 400,000 last year. But with the arrival of fast-growing discounter Allegiant Air last November, the airport is on track to hit more than 600,000 for 2007.

While Allegiant went public with a multimillion-dollar IPO last year, Myrtle Beach Direct launched on a shoestring in March with flights from its hometown to Pittsburgh and Niagara Falls, N.Y.. The local newspaper noted that two startups that tried making money flying from Myrtle Beach - Hooters Air and Express Jet - failed and AirTran Airways pulled out.

Warneck and chief executive Judy Tull, a former Hooters Air executive, insist the new venture can survive keeping costs low and offering leisure travelers cheap prices. Introductory fares start at $99 one-way, excluding taxes and fees.

In January, the airline advertised a three-day, half-price sale: $119 for a coupon that customers could exchange for a round-trip ticket.

Myrtle Beach Direct Executives expected to sell 3,000. When the sale started at the Myrtle Beach airport, lines stretched from ticket counters across the terminal to baggage claim. Some 16,000 vouchers were sold.

The local airport and Pinellas County's tourism marketing agency contributed a combined $60,000 to help Myrtle Beach Direct advertise its flights to Niagara Falls and Gulfport-Biloxi.

The Niagara Falls flights will be the first from Pinellas, said St. Petersburg-Clearwater airport director Noah Lagos.

Gulfport-Biloxi was a popular destination for gamblers when Southeast Airlines Vacations flew charters there as recently as 2005, he said.

Airport officials also will waive $27,000 in airport fees if the airline meets performance benchmarks.

FAST FACTS

Myrtle Beach Direct Air
Hub: Myrtle Beach, S.C.
Aircraft: Boeing 737-400 with 150 seats (12 first class; 138 coach)
Reservations: www.myrtlebeachdirectair.com or toll-free at 1-877-432-3473.

[Last modified September 19, 2007, 23:07:02]