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Tentative deal with Contour Air signals new air service for O'burg

Posted 5/18/22

BY JEFF CHUDZINSKI North Country This Week OGDENSBURG — Ogdensburg International Airport has a new air service provider on tap with the announcement that a tentative deal has been struck with …

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Tentative deal with Contour Air signals new air service for O'burg

Posted

BY JEFF CHUDZINSKI
North Country This Week

OGDENSBURG — Ogdensburg International Airport has a new air service provider on tap with the announcement that a tentative deal has been struck with Contour Airlines.

Officials say the contract is for 27 months of service beginning July 1, though the official start date of flights is floating as Contour and Skywest work on a handoff of services.

“Right now we do have a deal in place and have agreed to terms but we are still waiting on the grant information and paperwork from the Department of Transportation before we can finalize the deal,” said Steve Lawrence, OBPA Executive Director.

Flights with Contour will all be direct flights to Philadelphia on 30 passenger jets, maintaining the quality of service flyers have come to expect in recent years, officials say.

The service will be provided through the Alternative Essential Air Service Program.

Under the AEAS, airports are funded directly and are allowed to use the funding at their own discretion for air service they deem appropriate and suitable.

The change in service comes after months of debate and conjecture between the OBPA and Skywest, who announced in January that they were going to cease providing United Express flights to Washington DC from Ogdensburg.

At the time, Skywest claimed staffing issues and limited passenger numbers led to the decision based on financial projections which presented an unsustainable business model.

Local officials scoffed at the announcement, with OBPA Board Chair Sam Burns being one of the harshest critics of Skywest at the time.

“We’re certainly not pleased with that news. We feel we’ve done everything to fulfill our part of the EAS contract,” he said during a March meeting.

“We have a contract with SkyWest that provides a certain level of service. Obviously they’re not holding up their end. It’s not something we’re pleased with. It’s very little we can do at this point,” he continued.

Officials at the time said that SkyWest had failed to live up to the contract in place, which is subsidized with tax-payer dollars through the Essential Air Service program.

Senator Chuck Schumer and Congresswoman Elise Stefanik both rallied the Department of Transportation on behalf of Ogdensburg International Airport to ensure normal service would continue with Skywest until a suitable replacement could be found.