1 day Ago By Paul Hartley
Spirit Airlines and regional carrier Contour Airlines have announced a strategic partnership. Working together, they aim to increase the connectivity of underserved US communities to the national air transportation system and bring them new, affordable travel options. The partnership also offers Spirit a lower-risk opportunity to expand its network footprint to new markets.
Contour is the second-largest carrier in the US Department of Transportation's (DOT) Essential Air Service (EAS) program. It currently serves 22 EAS cities throughout the continental United States, providing connections to larger hubs of partners such as American Airlines. In partnering with Spirit, it is looking to grow those smaller markets through the provision of new, leisure-focused destinations.
The Next Stage Of Growth For Contour Airlines Contour Airlines was founded in 2016 as a division of Contour Aviation, and SkyWest Airlines took a 25% stake in the operation last year. It is best-known for operating EAS flights to 22 underserved destinations, which are subsidized by the DOT to typically guarantee two round trips per day to a larger hub airport. Contour's main bases that it connects to are Charlotte, Chicago, Nashville, Philadelphia, and Phoenix , reflective of its existing partnership with American Airlines.
Data from Cirium , an aviation analytics firm, shows that Contour operates more than 2,200 flights per month. It does so using a mixed fleet of 26 regional jets, all configured with 30 economy class seats. Contour Airlines Fleet Aircraft Type Number in service Average age (years) Bombardier CRJ-200 6 23.
3 Embraer ERJ-135 10 24.9 Embraer ERJ-140 7 23.4 Embraer ERJ-145 3 22.
2 Contour is set to benefit financially from its partnership with Spirit by providing ground-handling services for the new Spirit flights. But its largest benefit will be through reinforcing its role as a community stakeholder, and helping to boost passenger traffic at the far-flung airports that are central to its operation. Speaking about the partnership, Ben Munson, president of Contour, had the following to say: "EAS communities no longer need to choose between national connectivity and low fares.
The combination of service from our two airlines is the best formula to grow passenger traffic in these underserved airports" Strong Benefits For Spirit Through Partnership Spirit Airlines, having recently emerged from bankruptcy protection and with a new CEO at the helm, sees the partnership as a strategic opportunity to expand its footprint into new markets. Operating a fleet of nearly 200 Airbus aircraft to 91 destinations, Spirit plans to launch leisure-focused routes from select Contour EAS markets. although specific route announcements aren’t expected until later this summer.
Spirit is presumably looking to mirror the successful strategies of competitors like Breeze Airways, which has found strong growth in providing right-sized service to smaller markets. As John Kirby, vice president of network planning at Spirit, explained, the partnership with Contour "allows Spirit to leverage our partner's existing presence in the market, so we can grow our network with a low-cost entry point." Spirit Airlines announced that Ted Christie, the former President and CEO, stepped down on April 6.
Funding For EAS Flights Is Under Threat Created following the Airline Deregulation Act of 1978 , the EAS program is a federal government initiative established to ensure that small communities maintain a minimal level of scheduled air service. The program aims to connect these communities, which might otherwise be unprofitable for airlines to serve, to the national air transportation network. However, the timing of the Spirit-Contour partnership is not ideal, as federal funding for the EAS program is currently under threat.
As part of its 2026 budget proposal, the new Trump administration has vowed to cut over $300 million in funding for EAS flights through a mix of reforms to adjust eligibility and subsidy rates. It has referred to spending on EAS subsidies as being “out of control.” In 2023, EAS subsidies totaled around $394 million, so this would represent a drastic 80% cut in funding.
However, it should be noted that EAS flights are, by definition, to smaller and often rural communities, the core base that just returned the president and his party to power. It therefore remains to be seen whether Congress will choose to cut core travel services to those same constituents..
