Contour Airlines

Last month when I went on my big trip, I got to try out a new airline to Sacramento, Contour Airlines. I was able to take two flights with them. My first flight was from Sacramento to Palm Springs and then back to Sacramento from Palm Springs. I was very interested in trying this airline out after I booked my flights.

Contour Airlines is a small independent regional airline. While it is based in Smyrna, Tennessee, most of the flights it operates are in the southeast United States and the southwest United States. This October is when they started the service from Sacramento to Palm Springs. Currently, this is the only airline that I know that has direct service between Sacramento and Palm Springs. One thing to keep in mind with this airline is there is no code sharing with other airlines. So, if you have a flight on another airline, you have to go get your bags and recheck your bags with the other airline and then go through security again.

My grandpa was the one who told about this airline starting service between Sacramento and Palms Springs. Due to the small size of the Palm Springs Airport, flying down to the desert was always too expensive and was hard to do. As a kid, I remember once we were able to take a flight on Alaska Airlines from San Francisco. Another time, we had to fly in Ontario, CA, an hour drive from where my grandparents lived to fly down to the desert. Part of the reasons I was so excited, was that I no longer had to drive for eight hours or more to get to Grandpa’s house. When he told me about this new service starting up, I knew I wanted to try it out. This would save a lot of time driving and would save on the ware on my truck. It would be also be a very interesting trip.

One the day of my first flight, I could tell I was very excited. I was up and ready when my ride came to pick me up and take me to the airport. Not sure how much time I was going to need, I got to the airport two hours before my flight. One of the main reasons was that this airline has no app or kiosks to get your boarding pass and to check any bags that you might have. I was not sure what to expect since I had a suite case and a garment bag that was getting checked. In Sacramento, Contour Airlines, flies out of Terminal B. When I got to the counter, I noticed is was in an area that was not marked other than one screen. There was one counter agent who checked me in, checked my bags in and took them, and got me my boarding pass. I was happy that I had my global entry card with me because after calling the week before, the needed my trusted flyer number for the TSA Precheck. After getting my printed boarding pass, through the TSA check point, I made it to my gate. I was on the north east side of Terminal B near Alaska Airlines has its gates. It seems there are a few airlines that share these gates in this corner of the terminal.

When my plan arrived, I was surprised how small it was. When I booked my flight, it knew that the plane only had 30 seats. Boarding the plane was super quick. I did notice that the gate agent had to check some of the carry-on bags since they were too big for the overhead storage. The plane itself was comfortable. From left to right, there was one seat, the walkway, and two more seats in each row. I chose to sit in a seat by itself on both trips. Getting on the plane, they had to use a special wooden bridge from the jetway to the plane since it was so small compared to the other aircraft that use the gate.

Contour Airlines at Sacramento International Airport

The actual flight was just over one hour and fifteen minutes. We had our choice of water, juice, or a soda for something to drink and I had some small pretzels on the way down. There was no alcohol for sale or served on the plane. My guess is that there would be additional permits needed and since the flight is so short, it would be profitable for them. Since there was only 30 of us, there was just one flight attendant. Being on the left side of the plane, I was able to see the Sierra Nevada out my window. I could tell when we were going by Yosemite. When we got to Southern California, I was able to get some pictures of Big Bear Lake.

When we got to Palm Springs, we were at the south end of the airport where the smaller planes would park. We had a metal ramp that was pushed to the side of the plane that we talked down, and then across the tarmac into the southern terminal. There is no jetways to get off the plane. It was a short walk outside to the mail courtyard where the entrance to the main building on the left and the larger terminal building for the larger planes on the right. By the time I got to the main terminal building, my luggage was waiting for me in the baggage claim area.

Contour Airlines at Palm Springs International Airport

The flight back to Sacramento was very similar. One thing that did stand out to me is that at the Palm Springs airport, Contour Airlines does not have a normal counter to use for the checking in process. Since they have just the one flight leaving Palm Springs, Contour Airlines has a small maned kiosk right next to the curb in the departing flights area. It was very small but easy to find.

 The only negative thing that happened during both flights was that my flight home was delayed. There is one plane that goes from Sacramento to Santa Barbra, then back to Sacramento, and then to Palm Springs and back. What happened was that there was some kind of issue in Santa Barbra that was keeping the plane grounded. I would say waiting in the airport for an extra two hours was not the most exciting thing, but it was still easier than 8 hours of driving. When I booked my flight, I used my Chase Sapphire Reserved card to book the flight, so if there was an extended delay, I was covered if I needed to buy food at the airport.

Contour Airlines plane in Palm Springs International Airport on my home.

I think the big question is, would I fly this airline again? Being such a small airline, you have to do things old school like seeing someone to check in and getting your boarding pass. Also, you see them to get your bags checked. Currently there is only one plane that is serving the Sacramento airport. And they do not have any kind of loyalty program yet. With experiencing a delay with them, I would fly with them again. To me this was almost like a chartered flight with 29 other people I don’t know. It changed up what normal flying is for most people. One thing I did notice on the way home is that while they were behind schedule, the passengers getting off were still happy, the staff were still in good spirits. With that said, it would have been nice if we got an email or something from them telling us of the delay. Their mobile website was ok but it did show the delay and gave an estimated time of departure for us. The departure time did show the on time status in the airport. I am not sure if that was due to the airline or the airport, something that should have been updated as the ETA changed. I hope that as they grow and the start selling alcoholic beverages on board. I was really looking forward to starting my vacation with a beer in the morning and not having to settle for a Dr Pepper.

With having a full flight down to Palm Springs and a full flight home, I do hope this proves to be a good route for this airline. I would be someone who would fly with them again given the opportunity. I believe that this airline could be the next Southwest Airlines given the opportunity. I think they could really do well if they can keep flights on time and have the right mix service to both small and large airports. Who knows where they can take this airline. 

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