Ogdensburg airport getting 12 weekly flights to/from Philadelphia starting July 1

Andy Gardner, Watertown Daily Times, N.Y.
·2 min read

May 18—OGDENSBURG — Starting July 1, Ogdensburg International Airport will offer 12 weekly round-trip flights on Contour Air 30-passenger jets to and from Philadelphia International Airport.

Ogdensburg Bridge and Port Authority and Contour officials held a Tuesday morning news conference to announce the new flights. There will be two daily flights, with one flight daily on Tuesdays and Saturdays.

Contour Air CEO Matt R. Chaifetz said passengers will be able to reach 19 U.S. destinations from Philadelphia. He said it takes about an hour to get to Philly from Ogdensburg.

"We're very excited to be here and thank the community," he said.

Mr. Chaifetz said Contour Air takes jets that hold up to 50 passengers and removes some of the seats so all 30 passengers have "first-class leg room." The cabin is set up with a single row of seats on the left side, and two rows on the right side. The windows are oriented so all seats have a decent view, even in the aisles.

Passengers can book flights to Philadelphia on Contour's website for an introductory rate for the next 30 days. Anyone who needs to go beyond Philadelphia will have to use American Airlines' website to book tickets.

Local lawmakers also attended the announcement event and said getting back to 12 weekly flights could be a big boost to the local economy.

"It's obviously a great thing for the community and north country people who live here," said St. Lawrence County Legislator Joseph R. Lightfoot, R-Ogdensburg. "This will fill a huge void" in local air service created when the current Ogdensburg carrier, Skywest, announced they would pull out of the city airport and went down to just four round-trip flights per week.

"I think they'll be successful when Canadian traffic picks up," said Ogdensburg City Councilor John A. Rishe, who is also the OBPA's former director of commercial and economic development. He added that for local economic improvement, "it's important to have a reliable airline."

St. Lawrence County Legislator James E. Reagen, R-Ogdensburg, said he's hoping the airport will be able to use Contour's lower fares to attract Canadian passengers from Ottawa who may otherwise pay higher rates flying out of the Canadian capital.

"This is a huge magnet to attract Canadians into the greater Ogdensburg area and St. Lawrence County," he said. "We are uniquely positioned by being just 45 to 50 minutes away from the heart of Ottawa, which has 1 million people in it."

"If we can get the word to those people how much money they can save ... they'll come flocking here," he added.

Booking a ticket from Ottawa to Philadelphia using Google's airline ticket feature shows rates starting over $300 for July. Contour's website has tickets available for the same time period, from Ogdensburg to Philadelphia, for $69.