Operator Participant Agreement

Click here

All payments are payable and/or deposited to a charter escrow account at Valley National Bank, 1455 Valley Road, 3rd Floor, Wayne, New Jersey 07470, Direct Air’s depository bank. Your payments are protected by a surety bond issued by Platte River Insurance Company of Wisconsin (the “Securer”). Unless you file a claim with Direct Air, of if DA is unavailable, with the Securer, within 60 days of completion of the charter (or, in the case of cancellation, the intended date of your scheduled return Charter), the Securer will be released from all liability to you under the security agreement. If there is no return flight in your itinerary, completion means the date or intended date of departure of the last flight in your itinerary. All transactions between the Customer and Direct Air shall be solely in United States Dollars; Direct Air is not responsible for any fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates.

Direct Air

From the Direct Air Website: Direct Air finds it necessary to suspend flight operation from Tuesday, March 13, 2012 until May 15, 2012. This decision was made to address operational matters. We are currently evaluating strategic alternatives for Direct Air. Direct Air is committed to our passengers, employees, and the communities we serve. Passengers holding reservations for Direct Air flights departing between Tuesday, March 13, 2012 and Tuesday, May 15, 2012 are directed to contact their credit card company to arrange for a refund. Please check back here for more details. Very Truly Yours, Direct Air



Note "passengers holding reservations", not holding vouchers or memberships.
Maybe Judy and Ed can borrow this sign and just replace the word Hummer with plane and stand out at the 290 exits at Kelly Square
 

What next?

Running a business is not easy and I feel bad for anyone who has to close the doors.  That said this (sorry Harry T) reminds me of TiNovo selling gift certificates the week before they go under.   Right up to the very end Direct Air was selling Family Ties vouchers and Way2Go membership, which will be completely worthless after the bankruptcy case settles.

Let me stress again as a public charter Direct Air has to esgrow monies from ticket sales, so these monies should be safe.   Monies for vouchers and club membership went right into their general operating account.   These guys had to know that cash was running low, so low that they could not pay for fuel, but they keep selling worthless memberships?  This has to be criminal!!  There business practices the past two months was nothing less then one last "grab for cash"!

CALL ALLEGIANT AIRLINES!!!!!

Direct Air Bankrupt

Every day I get e-mails.  One day Family Ties is going to end, then once it ends low fares and now the Way 2 Go program.    Then one day Judy Tull leaves and the next day she is back.  During all of this I keep getting comments after coments about how bad the service is.   Looks like my February 1st prediction that they would be out of business was 41 days too early.


It is all over Twitter


Direct Air is BANKRUPT and has stranded passengers from Niagara to Fort Myers. A big FU to them

As punlic charter airlines, Direct Air was suppose to put monies from ticket sales into esgrow and have it bounded .  Bottom line if you bought tickets, your money should be safe.   On the other hand if you bought things like Family Ties, these were not tickets but vouchers--YOU ARE SCREWED!!!!!!

More links

Niagara Falls

Central Falls Rhode Island

Great story in the Washignton Post

Here is part

Ritz says the “Save Chocolateville” bar — honoring Central Falls’ nickname — recalls the tale of an American city that once thrived as a manufacturer, sank into decline and is trying to turn itself around. Proceeds will go to a yet-undecided program benefiting city children.


“Chocolateville to me represents the spirit of ingenuity, entrepreneurship, productivity, and — when that first mill building was created there — it was the heart of the community,” said Ritz, who heads the organization Leadership Rhode Island. The old Wheat chocolate factory that operated along the Blackstone River is pictured on the chocolate bar’s label........

“It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that Central Falls is in trouble,” said Shotts. “To try to help the city, get it back to where it was, is a good thing. That’s why I’m doing it.”


The 3.5-ounce bars, which went on sale this month at a Whole Foods in Providence, cost $5, a portion of which goes to cover Shotts’ costs. More than 700 have been sold.Said Shotts: “We’re going to just keep making them and selling them

Unfunded pension liabilities

Great story.   Here is a small part:

The near-failure by U.S. states to fund rising retiree health-care costs for millions of government workers threatens to produce budget crises similar to the one that pushed Stockton, California, to take a step toward bankruptcy last week.


States haven’t financed almost 96 percent of the $627.4 billion they were projected to owe for future retiree benefits in 2010, according to Bloomberg Rankings data. The estimated deficit grew from about 95 percent in 2009 as governors coped with lower general-fund revenue and rising demand for services following the longest recession since the Great Depression.

“The whole country is dealing with” finding a way to finance the projected costs of retiree health care, said Chris Christie, New Jersey’s Republican governor. His state owed almost $7,600 per resident for public workers’ post-employment benefits other than pension payments. Alaska, Connecticut and New Jersey had the largest unfunded liabilities, ranked in proportion to population, among the 47 states examined.


“How do we deal with the cost of health care, especially the cost of health care as we get older?” Christie, 49, told reporters March 1. The first-term governor pushed for measures enacted last year that increased pension and health-care contribution rates for government workers and raised the age for retirement with full benefits to 65 from 62. The changes are forecast to cut costs by at least $10 billion over 30 years

ORH

Old news clip

ZED

I posted this  before X-mas, but I thought it was worth a reprint for you... 



My daughter is in the 2nd grade now and I really can not believe all the emphasis on bullying. Dawson School does a great job explaining to kids what bullying is, what they should etc. Kudos to Dawson.

A friend of mine mentioned this to me, but referred to adult bullying when people run anonymous blogs or post anonymous comments ripping people apart personally. No facts, no counter points but just an outright attack on someone. I never thought of that, but how true!!    Actually the technical term is Cyber-bullying.

Will from Wonderland, Stuck In Worcester and any of you other anonymous commenters/bloggers, who personally attack people are nothing but a bunch of weak bullies and I truly feel sorry for you. You probably shake the hands and say "hi" to the same people you attack.

Worcester budget

I read this the other day in the newspaper:

"The city has funded $725 million of its pension obligations, which exceed 1 billion.  Mr O'Brien said Worcester currently has no trust fund for the $765 million in other benefits it owes retirees, such as health coverage"

In other words we are short $275 million toward the pension and the whole $765 million for other benefits for a grand total of $1,030,000 shortage.  That is wrong the number is

1,030,000,000  

Mason & Winfield

 I actually attended this kick-off and everyone celebrated the renovations of this house.   Remember it clearly because I almost fell over when I was told that they invested close to 500,000!!!

It was then I realized how out of control the monies were in these projects.   Remember the person next to me commenting on the woodwork and how they painted it versus doing vinyl siding...

Drive by and take a look at this house getting vinyl sided today.

Pats Towing

GoLocalWorcester

30 for 30 great series

Catch in on 309 some night another great one the Two Escobars

Judy Tull

Rumor has it Judy Tull is back at Direct Air? 

30 for 30 Vlade Divac

Another great one

Amanda Clayton

story

'It's okay because I'm not working: Woman, 24, who just won $1MILLION lottery and bought a new home all cash is STILL collecting welfare

Birmingham bankruptcy

click here

We are going to see more and more stories like this every day

Gary Rosen nails it

must read Rosen report

Way 2 Go

For the past month, I have been getting e-mails non-stop from them.    First it started with their Family Ties Program ending and this would be your last opportunity to buy vouchers.    This seemed to go on for a couple weeks.

Then there was advertised specials of, I believe $79, that also lasted for weeks.  Now yesterday I go an e-mail about a new program "Way 2 Go".  The long and the short of it is members in "Way 2 Go" can book any available ticket for $179 round trip.      The only thing is you need to be a member, which costs $49.95 annually.

Based on all the problems I heard about the Family Ties program, I just can't recommend this.  Not to mention there is no guarantee they will be in business in 12 months?

New Council doing things!

The other night the parking committee increased the number of spots before you need planning board approval from 9 to 15 !!!!  Now I read this below!!!!!!!   My god is someone finally asking whether the benefits or rehabbing apartments at a cost of $300,000 per unit makes sense???? 
I got another  for this City Council.. Why not make the CDC's using a the purchasing offices of one John Orrell to give everyone a chance any maybe lower the cost??   You ever notice that the same contractors are always hired??   Ironcially the same people who complain about City Square not hiring local contractors say nothing when multi-million dollar low income housing do not hire one local contractor?

20j. Motion Lukes @ #8.4C CM - Request City Manager obtain the average per square foot cost in a private housing development versus a publicly funded housing development of a similar size.

Attachments

Order adopted

New Blog

Interesting reading 

Also here is a post from InCity