Carrier, regional airport propose flights to nation’s capital

An official with a company proposing to bring air service to Middle Georgia Regional Airport says they believe they can duplicate the recent success in another Southeast market.

The Middle Georgia Regional Airport is seeking a $4.6 million annual subsidy to allow Smyrna, Tennessee-based Contour Airlines to operate flights from Macon to the nation’s capital. If the regional airport receives the subsidy, then flights could begin before then end of the year, Macon-Bibb County Mayor Robert Reichert said.

Washington D.C., was selected because it’s the No. 2 destination for people in Middle Georgia for flights, according to the airport’s funding proposal.

“I think people would say ‘halleluiah’ and ‘amen’ by not having to drive to Atlanta and stand in line two hours to get through (Transportation Security Administration), and instead be able to get on a direct flight to (Washington D.C.),” Reichert said.

Previous attempts at subsidizing airline carriers at Middle Georgia Regional Airport have failed, including two recent companies that flamed out.

When Contour began offering flights from Tupelo, Mississippi, to Nashville, Tennessee, this year there was skepticism after failed operations from the previous two airline carriers — SeaPort Airlines and Silver Airways. But within the first 30 days of entering the market, Contour sold about 4,000 tickets, exceeding SeaPort, which had 2,100 passengers over a nine-month period, said Matt Chaifetz, CEO of Corporate Flight Management Inc. The company formed Contour in 2015 for scheduled service flights.

While the District of Columbia is a prime locale to provide flights from Macon, there also “is potential for other markets down the road,” Chaifetz said.

At the Middle Georgia Regional Airport, Contour plans to offer flights to Washington D.C., at an introductory price as low as $49 each way, and it would eventually have standard one-way fares of $89. The company would use 30-passenger planes.

“We look for an area where we can come in and take something and really highlight the contrast between other carriers and the service we provide,” Chaifetz said. “When we demonstrate we operate our flights on time and come up with aggressively low fares that makes its convenient to fly .... those factors are critical for long-term success.”

Contour also will soon begin offering flights between Bowling Green, Kentucky and the Destin-Fort Walton Beach Airport. Macon is another attractive market, in part because of its proximity to the company’s maintenance facility in Tennessee, he said.

Contour’s progress in Tupelo could boost the south Bibb County airport’s chance at the federal grant.

“We have demonstrated the ability to achieve desired results to the (U.S. Department of Transportation),” Chaifetz said. “In our initial (Tupelo) projections we didn’t anticipate getting below the subsidy number until our second year and we should be able to in our first year, which is pretty remarkable.”

Middle Georgia Regional Airport cites recent carrier troubles, ways to attract passengers

The airport’s application mentions Contour is certified as an air carrier by the U.S. Department of Defense, which ties in well with the strong presence of the Robins Air Force Base.

The base has more than 25,000 employees of which 15,000-20,000 would have to drive to Atlanta or other regional airports that are capable of transporting military personnel, the report said. Overall, there is a market of 600,000 passengers within a half-hour of Middle Georgia Regional Airport.

Macon has a shaky past with some airline carriers since Delta Air Lines left in 2008. The regional airport’s report outlined problems with the most recent carrier, Silver Airways, that included passengers having to pay high prices for tickets and that the flight schedules were set to meet the needs of maintenance instead of the people flying. Silver Airways left in November 2014 after just nine months operating at the airport.

Prior to Silver, another company, Georgia Skies, eventually had a high number of cancellations and delays and in 2012 the company had less than 500 passengers.

In order to combat some of the previous issues, the airport and carrier would create a strong marketing campaign and look to extend the market into southern Georgia, the proposal said.

“Due to the decimation of air service at Middle Georgia Regional Airport over the past decade, the carrier and (airport) believe that reasonable ticket prices and reliability will rebuild the community’s confidence in air service,” the proposal said. “Accomplishing that feat will not happen quickly and it may take a significant amount of time for the community to once again trust an air carrier at (the airport).”

The partnership between Contour and the airport is a promising project that embraces a regional approach to economic development, said Cliffard Whitby, chairman of the Macon-Bibb County Industrial Authority.

“I think this is truly the beginning of a lot of exciting announcements in the coming weeks for the Middle Georgia Regional Airport,” he said.

This story was originally published August 3, 2016 at 6:46 PM with the headline "Carrier, regional airport propose flights to nation’s capital."