Video: Boutique Air Makes Pitch To Tupelo Airport Board For EAS Contract

TUPELO, MISS. (WCBI) – A San Francisco based airline is making a bid to get into the Tupelo market as part of a government program subsidizing air service for rural areas.

Officials with “Boutique Air” made their presentation to members of the Tupelo Airport Board, as part of the negotiation process under the government’s “Essential Air Service” program.

Currently, Tennessee based Contour Airlines has the EAS contract, but that will expire next spring.

Boutique Air proposes several options for Tupelo including DFW, Atlanta or Nashville.  The airline would fly 30 round trips per week, with possibilities for more flights.

“We focus on customer service, and reliability and we also have good technology so it makes it easy to book and change your flights, in addition to that we are proposing to do additional flying that we don’t have to do but we would want to do to connect Tupelo to other destinations,” said Shawn Simpson, with Boutique Air.

Next week, Contour Air will present its case to board members.  Contour wants to stay in the Tupelo market as part of the EAS program.  Any decision by the airport board must be approved by the Department of Transportation.