First flight to Washington, D.C., a success, officials say

The inaugural flight from Macon to Washington, D.C., went off without a major hitch.

Prior to the early morning departure, Macon-Bibb County and Contour Airline officials celebrated the return of commercial airline service with a ribbon cutting at Middle Georgia Regional Airport.

Contour CEO Matt Chaifetz said there’s been a strong amount of interest from Middle Georgia since people started booking flights last month. About 30 percent of all seats on flights from Friday through Dec. 15 have been booked, he said.

And as the first day of flights ended shortly before 7 p.m. Thursday, Chaifetz thanked the passengers as the plane landed back in Macon.

“I was emotional this morning,” he said over the intercom. “It’s a milestone for me. It’s a milestone for the company.

He later added, “We’re going to do everything we can to make you proud.”

And for the first flight, the 30-seat airplane was nearly filled to capacity with leaders from Macon, including Mayor Robert Reichert, County Commissioners Al Tillman, Larry Schlesinger and Elaine Lucas, and former state Rep. Nikki Randall.

The plane — featuring leather seats with 36 inches of legroom (the same as first class) — took off on time at 7:15 a.m. And the flight arrived slightly ahead of schedule at the Baltimore-Washington International Airport at 8:54 am.

Airport officials then gave a tour of the airport — the busiest one in metropolitan D.C. with 25 million passengers annually. Next, a ride on a free shuttle from the airport to the train station lasted about eight minutes.

Rail service from the Baltimore station into Washington runs every 20 minutes on weekdays. On Thursday, it took a little over 35 minutes for the train to get from the station and arrive at the bustling Union Station in Washington.

Several hours were then spent in the nation’s capital, including at Capitol Hill hotspot Dubliner Pub, before heading back to Union Station.

Contour’s flight back to Middle Georgia left at 5:30 p.m. and arrived back in Macon at about 7 p.m.

“It was full day — leaving at 7 a.m. and coming back at 7 p.m.,” Tillman said. “It’s amazing what you can do. I remember my military days when we would do more before 6 a.m. then most folks do all day. This was an amazing day.”

This story was originally published August 17, 2017 at 8:02 PM with the headline "First flight to Washington, D.C., a success, officials say."