Contour Air to Launch Operations Out of Indianapolis Base

The Covid-19 pandemic was a major blow to airlines across the globe, airlines cut routes everywhere and Contour was no exception. Back in Feb. of 2020 AirlineGeeks reported that Contour planned on opening a base in Indianapolis, Ind. The airline quietly dropped its plan to open the focus city and the three cities it was destined to serve.

Contour Air is a Part-135 carrier based in Smyrna, Tenn. and operates predominantly Essential Air Service or ‘EAS’ routes around the country. They currently fly to seven of these EAS routes, ranging from Beckley, W.V. to Crescent City, Calif.

With the new route announcement, the carrier will be adding three new points to their route map, Indianapolis; Milwaukee, Wiss.; and Pittsburgh, Penn., the carrier already flies to Nashville from Tupelo, Miss. Contour will serve the Indianan city once daily from Nashville, Milwaukee, and Pittsburgh beginning on Oct. 12, 2021. In addition to the new routes from the new Indianapolis base, they will also begin flights between Milwaukee and Pittsburgh, those flights will also begin on Oct. 12, 2021, but that will only operate six times a week.

Indianapolis representatives talking about the new Contour service at RoutesAmericas in 2020 (Photo: Indianapolis Airport)

Milwaukee wasn’t part of the carriers route announcement back in 2020, originally they were going to operate St. Louis but instead opted for the Wisconsin city. The route will be flown using the carrier’s 30-seat Embraer E135 or E145 jets.

In a quote acquired by Channel 8 Indianapolis News, the senior director of commercial enterprise at the Indianapolis Airport Authority Marsha Stone stated “What we’re seeing is a confidence in the local economy and that we are starting to see this recovery and resurgence in air travel and we were just waiting, and Contour was waiting, for the right time”. The quote is in reference to the Tennessee-based carrier’s postponed launch of the base in the city.

Contour’s new routes beginning on Oct.12, 2021 (Map: GreatCircleMapper)

Just like when they initially announced service back in 2020, the carrier still states that they see the potential for additional routes out of Indianapolis. The markets plan to serve will be underserved “drive markets”.

Flights and schedules are subject to change.

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Joey Gerardi

Joey has always been interested in planes, for as long as he can remember. He grew up in Central New York during the early 2000s when US Airways Express turboprops ruled the skies. Being from a non-aviation family made it harder for him to be around planes and would only spend about three hours a month at the airport. He was so excited when he could drive by himself and the first thing he did with the license was get ice cream and go plane spotting for the entire day. When he has the time (and money) he likes to take spotting trips to any location worth a visit but has a special interest in Essential Air Service Airports. He got his degree in Aviation Management and Operations from WMU in June of 2022, and is currently working full time for an airline in Kalamazoo, Michigan.

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