I had an exciting plane-spotting opportunity pop up last-minute that warranted a drive down to Corvallis, which was a Contour Airlines Embraer ERJ-135! Contour Aviation is an aviation services company based in Smyrna, Tennessee in the business of on-demand charter service for passengers and freight in the southern United States. Contour Aviation is also a certificated repair station and a fixed-base operator.
Contour Aviation (then known as Corporate Flight Management) jumped into foray of the commercial airline business in 2011, bidding for various Essential Air Service (EAS) routes first under various, short-lived virtual airline brands such as Branson Air Express (ended in 2012), Buzz Airways (ended in 2016), and Appalachian Air (ended in 2015); the airline used British Aerospace Jetstream 31 and 41 turboprops, which were sadly removed from Contour's scheduled operations on April 1, 2019, but were retained for use by Contour Aviation's charter operations. That same day, the airline became an all-jet operator utilizing Embraer ERJ-135s and a single ERJ-145 all generously-configured with just 30 seats.
Contour Airlines (which is under shared management and ownership with Contour Aviation/Corporate Flight Management) began flying under their own brand in the summer of 2016 between Bowling Green, Kentucky and Atlanta, Georgia (which was discontinued in January 2017 due to low demand) as well as between Tupelo, Mississippi and Nashville, an EAS contract. In 2018, Contour Airlines began serving routes in the western United States, starting with an EAS contract in California between Crescent City and Oakland; this marked the first time Crescent City has had scheduled passenger jet service, which came following PenAir's bankruptcy in late-2017 and eventual termination of flights to Portland, Oregon. Another EAS contract Contour began flying under was from Page, Arizona to both Phoenix and Las Vegas. That same year, Contour began flying to Santa Barbara, which they established as a focus city in April 2019, offering routes to Las Vegas, Oakland, and Sacramento. And earlier this month, Contour Airlines announced that they would add Indianapolis as a focus city, with flights to Nashville, Pittsburgh and St. Louis on offer starting June 10, 2020; to facilitate this growth, Contour Airlines will acquire and purchase additional ERJ-135s and 145s for their fleet.
Every route Contour Airlines currently flies is under-served by any other airline and they are so far successful in offering reasonable airfares to customers and turning a profit at the same time. The airline is pitching itself to change the current public perception of what a "regional carrier" is like; in the case of Contour, it's business model focuses on a combination operational reliability and credibility in the markets they serve with small touches of complimentary in-flight services, which is often lacking in larger domestic carriers.
It's always exciting to catch a new airline for the first time, especially at small airport like Corvallis!
Corvallis (CVO) 4
Preview:
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| Contour Aviation (d/b/a Contour Airlines) Embraer EMB-135ER ERJ-135ER (N16501) "Pride of Contour" parked on the ramp. Arrived from Santa Barbara as VTE501 and scheduled to depart for San Jose utilizing the same flight number. My first time photographing the Contour Airlines livery! |
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| Airframe first delivered to ExpressJet Airlines in September 1999 and flew under the Continental Connection brand. It then went into storage for a couple of years before being acquired by Contour in April 2017. "Pride of Contour" is the very first ERJ-135 to join the Contour Airlines fleet. At nearly 21 years old, N16501 is the oldest jet in Contour's fleet. |
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| Needless to say, I am very happy to photograph the Contour livery for the first time because as of right now, it's a rare sight in these parts. |
