Welcome to my first work trip of 2022. For this trip I’m going to Cookeville TN, Cookeville is just outside on Nashville. The first part of the trip will be a review of Contour Airlines, a new airline for me, and a relatively new airline to the GSP market.
Late last year Contour Airlines launched direct flights from GSP to BNA. They only fly 5 days a week and once a day, for me, this worked very well on the outbound so I booked it.
Contour uses ERJ135s and ERJ145s with only 30 seats on them. They also offer a free checked bag, snack, and seat assignments. So it’s somewhat of a full service carrier, just on smaller routes and planes. Anyway, today’s review I’ll be on a Contour Airlines ERJ135.
I arrived at the GSP airport about an hour before my flight. To my surprise there was no one at the check-in counter for Contour Airlines, just a sign that said go to gate A7. I was a little nervous as I didn’t have a boarding pass yet.
Anyway, I walked to security and asked them what to do. They said really didn’t know, so I asked if they would scan my ID and see what happened. GSP TSA doesn’t require a boarding pass these days, they just scan your ID and all the information is in their database. To my surprise it let me though.
At the gate I checked in, gave done that in years.
Contour Airways Boarding
We soon boarded, very light load today. Only 6 people on the flight.
The flight attendant welcomed me and told me to sit wherever I want.
I chose a seat near the wing on the single seat side of the plane. Lots of room to spread out on this flight!
Contour Airlines Seating Review
Contour airlines uses ERJ135s and 145s. These have seating arranged in a 1-2 configuration. When traveling alone, a seat on the single seat side is perfect.
When traveling with a companion, I’d pick a seat on the 2 seat of the aircraft. The bathroom is at the rear of the plane.
I will say this cabin is very clean and the leg room is great. Not that I’m a tall person.
No in seat entertainment on Contour. That’s not a big deal, they only fly short flights and I don’t think I’ve ever seen a ERJ135/145 with in seat entertainement. They also don’t have Wi-Fi on these flights. Have to kick it old school.
Cute little overhead panel with a single vent, light, and flight attendant button.
Today’s flight is an ERJ135. I honestly don’t know if I’ve been on a 135 before. It’s the little brother of the 145 that I’ve ridden on lots of times.
Contour Airlines Takeoff and Flight Review
We pushed back about 15 minutes early, that’s awesome! This flight is blocked at 1:05 gate to gate. Hopefully we can land a few minutes early.
We taxied to the runway, we’ll be taking off to the south west today.
We took off like a rocket. I don’t think we used 3k feet of runway and as soon as we were airborne, we made our turn to the right and straight for Nashville.
Once airborne the flight attendant made her announcement and told us there would be a snack service along with a beverage.
It’s a beautiful day to fly, perfectly clear in pretty much every direction. With so few people on this flight, it’s basically a private aircraft and I’m really enjoying this.
Contour Airlines Inflight Service
Not sure if it’s the usual service, but she just took individual orders and returned with beverages. With so few people on the plane, it makes sense. I just had a water.
She then passed through with a snack basket. They had pretzels and breakfast snack bars. I was pretty impressed with the service.
I settled into a podcast and enjoyed my snack and water, because I’m boring.
After my snack the flight attendant returned and collected the trash. It’s a really light load today so she’s not very busy and is very attentive.
This is a new service for GSP, I hope that business picks up a little bit as this is a good route. Nashville is just over a 6 hour drive, just over what I like to drive, a well timed direct flight is perfect for me.
Contour Airlines BNA Arrival
After a few minutes the flight attendant passed through again to collect our trash and see if we wanted anything else. They never turned off the seatbelt sign on the flight, not sure why, it was perfectly smooth. Maybe the forecast was different.
We finished our decent and the flight attendant did another pass. Very quiet flight today, just not much happens with 6 people on an airplane.
As Nashville and BNA came into view, the flight attendant made one more pass to check seatbelts and such. She also made her landing announcement and we made our final turn.
And on the ground here at Nashville.
Contour Airlines Review Final Thoughts
Contour Airlines was just what I needed. I’d be glad to fly with them again. The plane was clean, on-time, and service was great.
This route is interesting, I’m not sure how much business travel there is between GSP and BNA. This route is operated 5 days per week with convenient times for business travel, but I’m not sure how well it would fit for a leisure market. I really hope this route lasts, Nashville is a fun town and it’s farther than I’d want to drive.
Contour Airlines does a great job on this route. It’s a full service airline for little routes. The ERJ135 is very comfortable in Contour’s configuration. Lots of leg room and because of the light load, made it feel like a private flight.
We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it.OkNo
