BY JEFF CHUDZINSKINorth Country This Week

OGDENSBURG -- Increases in canceled flights has led Contour Airlines to lease jets from SkyWest, who previously offered air service from Ogdensburg International Airport.

Ogdensburg Bridge and Port Authority officials hope the move will increase the number of available flights to and from the airport after just 60% of scheduled flights were completed in January.

Airport Manager Charlie Garrelts updated OBPA board members of the low numbers during the Feb. 8 meeting, saying it was "really sad to see this."

Though some flights have been canceled in the past due to weather, Garrelts said the flights canceled in January were mainly due to mechanical issues or crew issues.

Garrelts told board members that when mechanical issues occur, spare parts are not available and lead to the planes "just sitting on the ground until parts get there."

In an effort to bridge the gap, he told board members that Contour will begin utilizing CRJ 200 jets from Skywest, which bought a 25% stake in Contour.

“The main purpose is they’re supplying Contour with CRJ aircraft, the engines and the parts,” he said.

A total of 50 spare CRJ 200s will be leased to Contour, though one modification will need to be made before they can be put to use.

Under the terms of the Alternative Essential Air Service contract that Contour operates under, flights can only serve a maximum of 30 passengers for subsidization.

In order to meet that requirement, 20 seats will need to be removed from each jet to stay at the maximum threshold, Gerralts said.

“Contour’s using that advantage to solve some of the operation issues they have currently,” he said. “Having spare aircraft will solve that problem of an aircraft sitting on the ground."

Though SkyWest is contributing jets as part of their partnership with Contour, OBPA Executive Steve Lawrence told board members that SkyWest "isn't part of this."

"It’s their partnership going forward with Contour. I don’t want the public to think SkyWest is coming back," he said.

Frequent flight cancellations are unfortunately not a new development for Contour Air though.

North Country This Week previously covered the subject last January when Lawrence spoke with NCTW regarding concerns from community members who intended to utilize the air service.

“We have received multiple concerns recently from the traveling public regarding frequent flight cancellations and the lack of scheduling clarity from our air service provider. We take this feedback seriously and are actively working to identify the causes of such issues and what remedies we have the ability to implement. It has always been, and always will be, our mission to provide an environment and the infrastructure for safe and reliable air transportation for our community,” Lawrence previously said.

Lawrence previously said the majority of cancellations are not related to runway issues.

At the time, North Country This Week received a number of complaints from people who say they had flights canceled.

Officials said at the time there were growing concerns that ongoing cancellations could hurt the airport as travelers booked flights out of Ottawa and Montreal to ensure timely travel.

In a two week stretch last January, nearly 50% of flights were canceled, cancellations that could also have a huge impact on the financial health of the airport as well.