Countour Airlines Embraer E135
Flyctory.com Pros
- Nice ground and cabin staff
- TSApre
- Comparably large network
- Comfortable E135
I am really curious about Alternate Essential Air Service (AEAS) flights within the USA. They typically connect “less developed” areas (in regards of air traffic and infrastructure) to one or two major airports, so that you can easily connect on to other domestic or even international destinations. During my stay in Nashville in August 2022, I had the opportunity to check one of the operators of these EAS flights, Contour Airlines. With their Embraer 135, I had the opportunity to fly to Tupelo Airport (TUP) and back. Here is my review.


Contour Airlines – Network and Fleet
Contour Airlines is a regional airline, which is owned by the Contour Aviation company. They operate since 2016 and majorly work on AEAS flights, but also do have some other connection. Apart from Tupelo (TUP) in Mississippi and Nashville Airport (BNA), where my flight departed, there are quite a number of other airports all over the US which are connected by the carrier. For example, they service Crescent City (CEC) in California, Altoona (AOO) in Philadelphia or Paducah (PAH) in Kentucky at the time of writing. Since August 2023, they also operate from Marion (MWA) in Southern Illinois, from where I had Cape Air flights. Currently, they biggest hub is Charlotte (CLT), from which Contour drives seven destinations. There are four connections from Nashville. In addition to my one, there is Greenville MS (GLH), Greenville/Spartanburgh SC (GSP) and Indianapolis (IND).

Contour used to have Jetstream planes, but nowadays full operate on an Embraer 135/145 fleet. Their current fleet size serving the 17 destinations is 13.




Contour Airlines – My Flights
I had a direct turnaround from Nashville to Tupelo and back on 4th August 2022. Departure in Nashville was at 11:00, with a scheduled landing at noon. The crew had a 1:45 hours rest before we headed back to Tennessee – which gave me the opportunity to explore the airport and the adjacent scraping facility. The return ticket was 112 USD.
Contour Airlines – At The Airport
Contour is currently operating from Nashville (BNA)’s North Terminal. A very handy feature is that they support TSApre, so that you have the easier hand luggage security in case you are enrolled. The staff was very friendly at both airports. The BNA staff could not issue my direct turnaround boarding pass – but this was finally not too much of an issue, there was plenty of time. In general, flying with these smaller airlines is generally really nice as you have a more personal touch.

Contour Airlines – Embraer 135 Cabin
The E-135 by Contour Airlines has a total capacity of 30 seats. There are ten rows with a 1-2 configuration, which means that the left side of the cabin (in direction of flight) has solo seats and the right side twin seats. The seat pitch is amazing, the airline states it to be with 36 inch (91cm). Just to give you a flavor: some airlines have less distance than that in intercontinental jets – at Premium Economy cabins. If you go for the first row, you have even more space. Overhead bins are just located on the right side of the cabin. overall, the seats are a bit tradiional, but really nice and comfy. A bathroom is located in the rear of the cabin.


















Contour Airlines – Inflight Experience
As I stated in the fifth episode of my Food I Had Onboard, Contour is even offering you a drink and a snack during the flight. I loved the very personal service by the flight attendant (Ashley, if I remember correctly). Overall, the inflight experience was very friendly in regards of the crew and very relaxed. Like the ground staff, I absolutely enjoyed the Contour people.





Contour Airlines – Some Views from my Flight
Last, but not least, here are some snaps taken through the window from my Contour Airlines experience. The pictures are in Pictured Story size.



















Contour Airlines – My View
Flying with Contour was definitely a great experience. The Embraer machines just have a nice touch and are also more comfortable than the planes used for other AEAS services. The staff on the ground and on board was great – so I just had to love this flight.
Flyctory.com about US Aviation
Here are all Airports & Airlines postings related to the USA:
During my Pittsburgh Penguins trip in February 2025, I had a Contour Airlines flights, based on the Essential Air Service ...
The Essential Air Service program, a state-funded scheme to subsidize aviation in more remote and less developed areas, already brought ...
While quite a lot of traveling is ahead of me during the next weeks, November and December 2024 was rather ...
Being on some sort of Lufthansa farewell tour after I decided not to prolong my Senator status gave me an ...
On my recent trip to the Tennis Hall of Fame Open 2024 in Newport, I had British Airways and American ...
Oh, I traveled too much the last weeks again. Time for another Food I Had Onboard posting - this time also featuring ...
Myrtle Beach in South Carolina is definitely a special place to me. The city on the Atlantic coast is full ...
In my fifteenth edition of my Food I Had Onboard posting series, I have a quhttps://flyctory.com/tag/deutschebahn/ite nice range of flight and ...
Happy New Onbaord-Food Year! At least, there is one flight experience from 2024 in this posting already, a Lufthansa Business ...
After my eleventh Food I Had Onboard posting majorly concentrated on two Lufthansa First Class legs between Frankfurt (FRA) and ...
When Swiss International Air Line recently released the seat map of their new Airbus A350 fleet, a real advantage of ...
The last legs of the 2023 Weird Al Yankovic European Tour, Rock of Ages shows, the Pittsburgh Penguins and many ...
Even though one of my early Flyctory.com posts was about my B777 Singapore Airlines First Class experience, it took me ...
Time for another episode of Food I had onboard. Between September and November 2022, I had some really interesting experiences, ...
Traveling through the United States, having the opportunity to try out Essential Air Service connections is also a nice add-on ...
Already the fourth edition of my Food I Had Onboard category. Even though my Covid-19 infection changed quite a lot of ...
Tupelo, birth town of Elvis Presley. I felt very flattered that I would make it back to the city during ...
New York LaGuardia Airport (LGA) is not regarded to be the nicest way of air traveling in and around the ...
The seventh day of my Pittsburgh Penguins trip in March 2022 lead me to Marion, Southern Illinois. The local Veterans ...
After my second posting about Food I Had Onboard in mid March 2022, I had a couple of interesting flight experiences ...
During the later phases of the Covid-19 lock-downs in Germany, I had the idea to that posting. Maybe just because ...
When people discuss about good airlines for US domestic travel, Alaska Airlines is very frequently mentioned. Thus, I was really ...
On the fifth day of my Pittsburgh Penguins West Coast trip in February 2020, I had my first flight from ...
Though they really seem to put in quite some effort to improve the situation, I am not too much a ...
The Californian In-N-Out Burger chain is generally quite well known under West Coast tourists. Aviation nerds especially praise the restaurant ...
In order to transfer from East Coast to Tennessee on my trip to CMA Fest 2019, I flew from Washington ...
In contrast to the significantly more fancy Flagship Lounges (here is my review of the JFK one), the American Airlines ...
After I tested their A330 Premium Economy Class on a flight to Philadelphia before, I was really flattered to check ...
I have to admit that American Airlines Admiral Club Lounges are not really my favorite place. Some are functional, some ...
Though I finally did not manage to touch down there, flying from Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) was definitely ...
After my first Chattanooga experience was already part of my trip following the Weird Al Yankovic Tour 2018, I made ...
Flying Southern Airways Express was not my only debut aviation experience on route to Philadelphia for the NHL Stadium Series ...
Travelling to the NHL Stadium Series match of the Pittsburgh Penguins at the Philadelphia Flyers in late February 2019, I ...
British Airways flight BA 1 has always been on my bucket list. The very special connection between London and New ...
Postings about Tupelo MS
Elvis’ birthplace – here are all my postings about Tupelo in Mississippi:
Tupelo, birth town of Elvis Presley. I felt very flattered that I would make it back to the city during ...
Even more than 80 years after Elvis Presley's birth, Tupelo in Mississippi is still dominated by memories of its most ...
After flying from Washington (DCA) to Chattanooga (CHA), my first night on my trip to Nashville in 2019 was in ...
3rd June 2019 on my trip to Nashville was "Elvis Presley Day". Waking up less than a mile away from ...
While most of the trip to Nashville was accompanied by magical places of music history, the first highlights of the ...
Already months ahead, I was looking forward to visiting the CMA Fest in Nashville. Not just that I fell in ...