MOV Regional Airport officials pleased with Contour service
WILLIAMSTOWN — With less than a week of flights under its belt, Contour Airlines has already flown more passengers to Charlotte from the Mid-Ohio Valley Regional Airport than its predecessor did in November.
At Tuesday’s Wood County Airport Authority meeting, airport Manager Glen Kelly said Contour had recorded 44 enplanements from the first flight on Dec. 5 to Tuesday morning. Via Air, whose time as the airport’s carrier under federally subsidized Essential Air Service was to officially end Dec. 4, tallied 27 in November after canceling most of its flights.
“They only executed four of their scheduled 54 flights,” Kelly said. “They had completely pulled out as of a week-and-a-half before Thanksgiving.”
Via had lost its gate at Charlotte Douglas International Airport over non-payment issues, and had two planes down for scheduled maintenance.
The only flights Contour did not make in its first week of service were two canceled due to weather issues at Charlotte, Kelly said.
“We have 270 (passengers) booked for the month right now,” he said, including the 44 that have already flown.
Authority member Terry Moore, a former airport manager, shared his experience on Contour’s first flight from the local airport. He noted the generous leg room and said having a jet instead of a turboprop reduces noise and allows the plane to get above the clouds quickly.
“It doesn’t have the hum-hum-hum of the props that a lot of people didn’t like,” Moore said.
He estimated the flight to Raleigh County Memorial Airport in Beckley took about 25 minutes, with a 20-minute stop so additional passengers could board there.
“You lean over and you talk to the person next to you. Next thing you know, you’re taking off,” Moore said.
The flight from there to Charlotte lasted 35 minutes, he said.
Moore noted the gate Contour uses at Charlotte is at the end of a long spoke, so it could be a daunting walk for someone with mobility issues who wants to catch a connecting flight from an airline like American. Allowing 30 minutes between flights might not be enough time, but an hour should do it, he said.
Airport business manager Jackie Hall recommended people let the airline know when they book if they will need assistance getting to their connection once they land, and remind the ticket agent when they check in.
Moore and Kelly expressed optimism about the relationship between Contour and the airport.
“If these guys do what they say, what’s in their contract, (it) could be big,” Moore said.
With reliable service, Kelly said, the airport could approach 10,000 annual enplanements, putting it in line for a $1 million allocation from federal Airport Improvement Program funds, instead of $150,000.
“My goal really is within 18 months, we’re in the cycle for 10,000 enplanements,” he said.