Jet service may soon be coming to Owensboro, offering daily direct flights to Charlotte-Douglas International Airport — which is among the largest hubs in the country. That would result in no longer offering flights to St. Louis or Nashville. The local airport board approved recommending the changes Tuesday evening.
The changes are a result of accepting new bids for an Essential Air Service (EAS) provider for Owensboro-Daviess County Regional Airport (OWB).
Cape Air is currently the EAS provider, and their contract was originally set to expire at the end of 2023. However, high inflation was causing the airline to lose money on their service in Owensboro and two other cities. In late 2022, Cape Air filed a motion to terminate their service early — but that was mostly a formality as flight schedules and ticket fares have remained the same (and they will continue until the new EAS contract is finalized).
Cape Air was allowed to submit a bid for a new contract in hopes of getting a higher subsidy. Their proposal was to continue forward with the same flights currently offered: two round trip flights between OWB and Nashville daily, and one round trip between OWB and St. Louis daily.
However, the board said the bid submitted by Contour Airlines was superior in several facets — including an upgraded plane and a vastly larger hub.
Contour’s proposal is a 3-year contract that includes 1-2 round-trip flights per day between OWB and Charlotte.
The airline offers jet service — meaning a twin-engine jet compared to a prop plane like Cape Air uses. Their jets seat 30 passengers in a 2-by-1 configuration and feature 36” of seat pitch in every row.
Contour is an interline partner with American Airlines. That means passengers don’t have to re-check bags if they connect from a Contour to an American flight. Travelers also have the ability to ticket seamlessly from their originating airport and through a connecting hub to global destinations. One checked bag also flies free with Contour.
Airport Director Tristan Durbin said he reached out to the other airports using Contour as their EAS provider, and all three gave “very good remarks and were very pleased.”
Southern Airways Express also submitted a proposal to be the EAS provider, but the board agreed Contour’s offer was better than Southern or Cape Air.
The airport board will give their recommendation to the Department of Transportation, which makes the final decision on choosing the provider. However, Durbin said the DOT takes into account the board’s recommendation.
Durbin said it could take a few weeks for the DOT to make a decision, and if Contour is awarded the service it would take a few months to get everything in place. The Cape Air flights to Nashville and St. Louis would cease when the Contour flights begin, if the bid is awarded.
The service by Allegiant Air, which offers round-trip flights from Owensboro to Orlando two days a week, is unaffected.
