Mississippi’s Contour Airlines returns to Indianapolis plans

Contour Airlines (LF, Tupelo) has announced three new regional routes out of Indianapolis Int’l in what it touted as its “largest expansion yet”.

The carrier, which is a scheduled division of charter specialist Contour Aviation (LF, Smyrna), plans to connect Indianapolis with Nashville Int’l, Milwaukee General Mitchell, and Pittsburgh Int’l, as well as Pittsburgh directly with Milwaukee. Each of the routes will be operated daily using Embraer regional jets, starting on October 12, 2021. Contour Airlines operates ten E135s and four E145. While it did not specify which type would operate out of Indianapolis, it does not make a difference in terms of capacity as the carrier carries up to 30 passengers in either type.

Contour Airlines initially planned to open a base at Indianapolis airport in June 2020 but had to postpone these plans due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The carrier said that while it would add more than 20 jobs at the Indiana gateway, its plans for a fully-fledged base were still on hold for the time being. Its original plans included flights to St. Louis Lambert Int’l instead of Milwaukee.

The ch-aviation schedules module indicates the airline currently plies a dispersed network of scheduled flights mixing Essential Air Service contracts and operations at its own risk in California, Arizona, Missouri, and along the US East Coast out of Charlotte Int’l.

On top of its scheduled division, Contour Aviation operates three CRJ200LRs and one Legacy 600 for charter operations.