Direct Air Cuts Flights Between Lakeland and Hagerstown, Maryland.

LAKELAND | Direct Air has canceled its flights between Lakeland and Hagerstown, Md., but plans to increase the number of weekly flights to two other destinations, Lakeland Linder Regional Airport Director Gene Conrad said Wednesday.

Not enough passengers were booking flights to Lakeland from Hagerstown, Conrad said.

But he said he expected the Myrtle Beach, S.C.-based airline to resume flying to Hagerstown in the spring when more people will come to Central Florida.

Typically, Conrad said, about half of the Hagerstown passengers would get off at Myrtle Beach before the plane continued to Lakeland. The Hagerstown-Myrtle Beach leg also will be canceled.

"You can't fly empty planes in this economy," Conrad said.

Direct Air's last flight to Hagerstown from Lakeland will be on Aug. 21.

Commercial flights to and from Lakeland began in June. The airline also flies to Myrtle Beach, Niagara Falls and Springfield, Ill. Flights to Plattsburgh, N.Y., and San Juan, Puerto Rico, will begin in November.

Conrad said bookings from Niagara Falls and Plattsburgh are so good that the airline plans to increase the frequency of flights to the two cities.

The number of flights to Niagara Falls will increase from three to five per week, while the number of flights to Plattsburgh will increase from two to four.

Overall, the number of departures from Lakeland Linder will increase from eight to 14 per week, Conrad said.

Conrad said the Niagara Falls flight is the most popular.

"The planes are full the rest of this month and through September," Conrad said.

Hagerstown officials said in a press release that Direct Air executives told them that the city may be more of a seasonal market.

"Ed Warneck, President and Managing Partner for Direct Air stated that Hagerstown was a new start-up destination with not enough history to ensure confidence in fall and winter demand," the press release said. "As a result, the airline has concluded that during this first year of operation, the market should be viewed as seasonal."

The news release said that any passenger who purchased a family ties voucher or a ticket to or from Hagerstown should be contacted by Direct Air and will receive a full refund. If a ticket holder is not contacted by Direct Air, they should contact the Direct Air Reservations Center at 877-432-3473.

Rick Beale of Lakeland was disappointed by the cancellation. He was planning on flying to Hagerstown on Sept. 1, renting a car, and driving to western Maryland to visit family members.

"I just made all my hotel and car reservations," Beale said. He said he received a phone call from a Direct Air representative Wednesday afternoon. Beale said he paid $179 for the round-trip ticket.

Now he likely will drive to Tampa and fly Southwest Airlines to Baltimore.

"It would have been a lot easier to go through a smaller airport," Beale said. "It would have been really convenient."

Source:   http://www.theledger.com