Hooters Air - Newark/NY to Myrtle Beac, SC
 

Okay people, is this a "for real" airline???

We are probably going to SC in August and my DH printed out a Hooters flight schedule for me to take a look at -- I was shocked to say the least :D

The flight attendents and the Hooters girls are on board -- yikes! Do you think the mechanics might get "distracted" by the Hooter girls? Or better yet, the pilots? This could be a serious concern for goodness sake :D

Has anyone every flown Hooters Air? Share your stories, please!

I saw a news thing on them the other night- their business is doing so well they're expanding. There are two Hooters girls aboard that chat to passengers and help serve drinks. And yes, they wear the outfits. No surprise, almost all passengers are men. I wouldn't fly them, plus their rates aren't any lower than any others.

If the airline is the same quality as the "restaurants" you couldn;t pay me to get on the plane.

Hooters Air, somewhat surprisingly, is for real. They offer non-stop flights to & from Myrtle Beach; nearly no major carriers do that. Believe me, we live here and get a little tired of having to connect in Charlotte or Atlanta to get anywhere. Also, Hooters planes have much nicer coach seat configurations--leather seats, more room etc.

Finally, I am not sure if back2nc has recently checked prices, but I did just now. Expedia showed the lowest (1-stop) fare from Newark to MB at $272 roundtrip (I chose an 8/5 to 8/8 trip, with a Saturday night stayover); the lowest non-stop roundtrip fare was $363. Hooters web site showed a $218 round-trip (non-stop of course) for the same dates.

So I'd say if you're worried your image will take a hit, pay more dollars to fly a different airline. If you want a cheaper, more comfortable non-stop coach flight, give Hooters Air a try. By the way, I have no affiliation with Hooters.

We fly Spirit Air out of Atlantic City which has direct flights to MB for $176 RT. Only problem is since I booked they changed their departure time for the flight -- 7AM. That gets me up at 3AM to catch the flight. :-[

Hooters has great wings and beer, especially after a round of golf. ((b))

Yes, it is for real. Used to be Vanguard Airline.

DH has takens Hooters air to Myrtle Beach on his annual golfing trip with his buddies and vowed, "never again!" It is cheap and nonstop. Most customers will be men on similar golf trips and husband claims they are loaded or well on their way to being loaded by the time they board. Boorish behavior abounds. Because of the amount of golf clubs + luggage, plane is usually overweight and must leave some luggage behind. Happens every time. They also got delayed due to bad weather and husband is convinced that the small airlines like Hooters and Spirit get "bumped" for slots in those situations in favor of the bigger, more established airlines.

BTW, the Hooters girls are not flight attendants because they have not been trained in safety procedures. They are simply on board as "hostesses."

Yes and they are simlar to Jetblue, Spirit, etc. If you are going to (or live in) SC and price is the driving factor they make sense. Otherwise very limited routes.

http://www.hootersair.com/destinations/route_map/

I have never been to a Hooters restaurant, so I don't know what their food is like but I did pass on your comment, nytraveler, to my husband -- he thought it was funny (I think he knows something that I don't know) :D.

listeemac: Yes, thankfully the Hooter girls are NOT the flight attendants, nuf said on that C:) Right or wrong, your description is exactly what was running through my mind!

Then I guess I would have to fly incognito to protect my image, beach_dweller ((H))

Most likely we will fly non-stop into Charleston using a major carrier and then drive to MB.

If the price is the same or less, I can't imagine adding a 2+ hour drive up the coast to get to where you are going.

I should have added that we would probably spend a night or two in Charleston.

Gretchen, we were thinking we would make better time driving a car to our final destination instead of waiting for a connecting flight. I have to look more closely at flight times, etc. before we make a final decision.

seetheworld,

you may be overestimating the Charleston airport. I just did a quick search on Sidestep and the only non-stop from newark to charleston I saw was on Continental for $383 round-trip.

That said, a few nights in Charleston is a great thing (just get ready for some serious heat & humidity).

And I won't tell anyone if you fly Hooters.

Lisettemac,

I can't imagine a plane full of golfers exhibiting boorish behavior! Just had to rib you a little. My wife & I sometimes argue about which group produces the most obnoxious tourist (at the extremes of course): college kids, golfers, or bikers. I say college kids because I hate picking up their trash on the beach; she says golfers because she hates it when they seem incredulous that they cannot take their open beers into the grocery store (after the final round of golf, but before they hit the, umm, gentlemen's clubs). :-)

Have you considered flying into Wilmington NC? It would be a quicker drive to MB than from Charleston, and USAir has direct flights from both LaGuardia and Philadelphia. Expedia shows roundtrip tix for random August dates at $250 from LGA and $183 from Phillie.

beachdweller, I appreciate the fact that you would keep such a secret for me ;)

Yes, Charleston will be hot - not an ideal time to visit, I realize. I also did a search and the fare from LGA to Charleston I came up with is around $240 direct on both US Air and Delta and looks to be pretty wide open at the moment for August.

Tommyboy, thanks for the suggestion - we hadn't thought about flying into Wilmington. Do you know what type of machinery they fly(jet,prop)?

tommyboy, way to go.

I never would have guessed anyone had a direct flight to Wilmington. Sidestep shows the USAir plane as a small jet (2 hour flight time is pretty good).

And Wilmington to MB is an extremely easy drive (a little over an hour). Take the new Highway 31 (Carolina Bays Parkway) off of Highway 9 West, just past Little River to make it even quicker.