Contour Cuts Altoona Flights to Meet Federal Budget Cap

Contour Aviation has scaled back its scheduled flights from Altoona, Pennsylvania, in September to comply with federal funding limits under the Alternate Essential Air Service (AEAS) program. Altoona airport manager Tracy Plessinger told the Altoona Mirror that the carrier faces a hard cap of 1,211 flights for the federal fiscal year to stay within the program’s budget.

“They’re not allowed to go over that. That’s a hard cap,” Plessinger said, adding that Contour has actually flown more passengers than initially planned, prompting the need to trim operations.

Contour receives an annual subsidy of USD6.4 million to operate up to two daily flights between Altoona and Charlotte Douglas International using 30-seat Embraer E135 aircraft. The AEAS program supports small-community air connectivity with capped funding, requiring carriers to adjust schedules if demand exceeds forecasts.

Beyond Altoona, Contour also operates AEAS flights from several other communities, including Muscle Shoals, Beckley, and Parkersburg to Charlotte; Page, Show Low, Moab, and Vernal to Phoenix Sky Harbor; Macon to Baltimore/Washington International; Manistee to Chicago O’Hare; Greenville, Mississippi to Dallas/Fort Worth; Tupelo to Dallas or Nashville; and Plattsburgh to Philadelphia.

Contour’s fleet includes 15 CRJ200s, 10 E135s, 8 E140s, 3 E145s, and a mix of business jets such as a Challenger 800, Citation Excel, Falcon 2000, and Legacy 600. The airline has not yet commented on whether similar capacity adjustments will affect its other AEAS routes as it works to balance funding limits with rising passenger demand.

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Sources: AirGuide Business airguide.info, bing.com, ch-aviation.com