Contour Airlines made their first flight carrying Page passengers today. Page’s new air carrier will make 12 weekly round trip flights from Page to Phoenix.

According to Contour CEO Matt Chaiffetz, Contour will have an early morning departure from Page and a second departure around noon. They’ll also have a morning return flight from Phoenix and a second return flight around five or six p.m.

Flight time will be around 40 minutes. From wheels up until the plane reaches its terminal will typically be less than an hour, said Chaiffetz.

Contour will fly into Sky Harbor’s terminal 2 until Nov. 6, after which it will switch over to Terminal 3, said haiffetz. The company will be unable to offer luggage transfer until they move into Terminal 3. Contour doesn’t charge for checked bags.

Chaiffetz madethese announcements last Wednesday during a press conference at Page Municipal Airport.

“We’re excited to be in Page,” said Chaiffetz. “This morning represents the culmination of a mad dash of many weeks of hard work.”

Contour Airlines is based out of Smyrna, Tenn. It began operations in 1982 offering charter flights for passengers and freight. In recent years they’ve branched out to include regional air services.

Contour Airlines also operates Alternate Essential Air Service flights between Macon, Georgia and Baltimore, between Tupelo, Mississippi and Nashville, and between Oakland and Crescent City, California.

Contour points to its Macon to Baltimore air service which transports 30,000 passengers yearly.

“We think it’s pretty incredible what can happen to a market when you show up, fly when you say you will and offer low fares,” said Chaiffetz.

Contour’s arrival in Page will also be a big lift for Page’s businesses, economy and tourism, and help get some of Page’s future endeavors off the ground, said Mayor Bill Diak.
“This will be the first time we’ve had an airline with more than nine seats,” Diak said in July when Contour announced they were coming to Page. “If Page continues to grow it will be beneficial for us to have a larger airline that can handle that.”

Page’s previous air carrier, Great Lakes Airlines, could carry only nine passengers. Contour’s jets can carry 30 passengers.

That will be a big advantage to the residents of Page, said Page councilman Dennis Warner.

“It’s basic economics,” said Warner. “If I have a plane that’s limited to nine seats those seats are going to be filled most of the time. They have no incentive to lower their prices. But a plane with 30 seats will have an incentive to keep their fares low so they can keep them filled.”

According to Chaiffetz, Contour’s ticket prices will run between $49 to $139 one way. They’ll also offer weekly deeply-discounted deals available for specific flights which the company will announce through social media.