Contour Airlines (LF, Tupelo) has been selected for a 31-month contract to serve Muscle Shoals under the US Department of Transportation’s Alternate Essential Air Service (AEAS) programme, according to a regulatory filing.
This follows DOT approval on January 24 of an application by the Northwest Alabama Regional Airport Authority serving the Essential Air Service (EAS) community of Muscle Shoals, Alabama, under the AEAS programme.
According to this, the DOT will provide Muscle Shoals with a grant of almost USD8 million for the 31-month term, running from March 1, 2022, through September 30, 2024. Muscle Shoals will use the grant to secure a public charter service by Contour Airlines from Northwest Alabama Regional Airport to Charlotte International, or an alternate hub designated by the community, using 30-seat E135s.
The grant money will be split into payments of USD2.9 million for the first year, USD3 million for the second year, and a pro-rata portion of about USD1.8 million for the remaining seven months of the contract.
Contour Airlines will take over from Boutique Air (4B, San Francisco), whose four-year EAS contract at Muscle Shoals ends on February 28, 2022.
Boutique Air originally provided 24 nonstop weekly rotations to Atlanta Hartsfield Jackson and Nashville International, using eight-seater PC-12s at a combined four-year subsidy of USD11.3 million. Since November 1, 2020, the carrier by consent diverted 12 frequencies to Pensacola Gulf Coast Regional instead of to Nashville.
Boutique Air, as well as Southern Airways Express (9X, Memphis International) and Air Choice One (St. Louis Lambert International), in August last year, submitted bids for the renewal of the EAS contract, all with eight/nine-seater aircraft for virtually the same annual subsidy.
However, the DOT opted for the proposal submitted by the Muscle Shoals community for an AEAS service with Contour Airlines, providing a bigger capacity jet service and interlining with American Airlines (AA, Dallas/Fort Worth) at its Charlotte hub, at less cost to the department. While the number of services was not prescribed, the proviso was that an average of 10 passengers would have to be transported per flight per day and the DOT grant may not exceed USD200 per passenger.
AEAS provides communities with an alternative to the traditional EAS-type service. Instead of the DOT paying compensation to an air carrier to provide EAS, the department can provide direct financial assistance to a community, to be spent in a way that better suits its needs. For example, communities may use the assistance for more frequent services with smaller aircraft, on-demand air taxi services, scheduled or on-demand surface transport, purchasing an aircraft, or regionalised air services.
According to company information, Contour Aviation's diverse aviation services include scheduled flights, Part 135/91aircraft management and charters, an FAR Part 145 certified repair facility, and a FAR 141 pilot and maintenance training. The company operates a fleet of about 30 aircraft ranging in size from Cessna Aircraft Company business jets to Bombardier Aerospace and Embraer regional jets.
