New airline launches daily nonstop service between Albuquerque and Carlsbad

Making a quick trip to New Mexico’s best-known bat cave and limestone cavern just got a little easier.

Contour Airlines, one of the Albuquerque International Sunport’s newest airlines, is launching daily nonstop service between Albuquerque and Carlsbad, Sunport officials shared on Friday. The service, which will offer one round-trip flight per day, begins Sunday.

“We’re excited about the partnership and excited for both Albuquerque and Carlsbad and just working on giving all of our travelers in New Mexico all the options they can get,” said Daniel Jiron, associate director of Albuquerque’s Aviation Department.

The new service marks the debut of Contour Airlines at the Sunport, bringing the Albuquerque airport’s airline partners to eight.

Contour is a regional airline brand of Tennessee-based Contour Aviation. The company started as a private jet charter company in 1982 and is now the largest Part 135 charter operator in the Southeast. Part 135 operators are authorized by the Federal Aviation Administration to provide on-demand, nonscheduled commercial flights.

Contour is now one of two commuter airlines the Sunport is partnered with, including Advanced Air. Commuter airlines generally provide in-state routes, Jiron said.

Advanced Air previously offered flights to Carlsbad with a nine-seat aircraft. Contour is taking over Advanced Air’s route and will use a 30-seat jet.

Advanced Air was offering the route under a contract with the city of Carlsbad and the federal government, as a part of the government’s Essential Air Service program. Jiron said the program subsidizes airlines “to ensure small communities have access to air service.”

Once Advanced Air’s contract with the city was up, Carlsbad began accepting bids from other airlines. With Contour and its larger aircraft, the city will have access to 12 weekly flights, which include daily service to Albuquerque and five days per week to Denver, according to Contour’s vice president of customer service, Susan Skees.

“We have built a schedule designed to support both business and leisure travelers,” Skees wrote in an email. “We are proud to serve southeastern New Mexico and look forward to building strong relationships throughout the region.”

The contract between Contour and Carlsbad is for four years.

The Sunport embraced the new partnership, Jiron said, adding it’s “always a good thing” for the airport to diversify its carriers and strengthen connectivity across the state.

Jiron said expanding the Sunport’s partnership with the airline to add more routes and services is a possibility for the future.

“We hope that this can turn into a larger partnership,” Jiron said.

Kylie Garcia covers retail and real estate for the Journal. You can reach her at kgarcia@abqjournal.com.