MARTINSBURG — Over 40% of available tickets have already been sold within a week of Contour Airlines offering seasonal nonstop service from the Altoona-Blair County Airport to Myrtle Beach International Airport.

Beginning July 1 through Aug. 22, the route will operate every Wednesday and Saturday with one-way fares starting at $139.

Tracy Plessinger, the Altoona airport’s manager, said he’s hopeful the service will sell out by the end of the month, so airport officials can encourage Contour Airlines to extend the service, which is a common request he’s received since the announcement was made last Thursday.

“My goal is to sell it out by the end of June and we might beat that,” he said during Wednesday’s airport authority board meeting.

Contour’s overall completion rate for its daily service to Charlotte Douglas International Airport was 100% in May, Plessinger said, noting enplanements were down 3% from April but up 12% from May 2025.

Contour carried 1,970 passengers outbound and inbound from the airport in May, Plessinger said, adding Contour’s overall passenger numbers are up 5% over last year at this time.

La Fiesta’s sales at the airport were up 19% from April and up 1% from last year, according to Plessinger, who noted May was the third-highest sales month for La Fiesta in the restaurant’s history at the airport.

Coffee Coop sales were down 4% from April’s near-record level, but up 22% from May 2025, Plessinger said.

Avis/Budget sales for May were down 14% from April and down 12% from last year, Plessinger said, noting the drop was largely due to the fact that the airport location was off the Avis and Budget reservation system for 15 days in May and off the online travel agency sites for 20 days last month because of a contract adjustment with Avis Budget Group.

With that taken into account, May was a solid month, Plessinger said.

“The new relationship and the new contract with Aero seems to be going well,” Plessinger said. “We’re back up and running and everything seems to be pretty good.”

During the meeting, the authority board awarded bids for the first-floor terminal restrooms remodeling project, which involves remodeling and restructuring the restrooms to enable access from the TSA secure area, Plessinger said.

The work is expected to be completed this fall, in either September or October, airport officials said.

Mid State Construction of Altoona was awarded the general contractor bid in the amount of $322,180; Chose Construction of Johnstown was awarded the plumbing bid for $139,500; LMJ Contracting of Bedford was awarded the electrical bid for $65,400; and Marc Services of Windber was awarded the heating, ventilation and air conditioning bid for $544,576.

The board also approved a $10,000 task order with McFarland Johnson for construction administration services for the project, pending receipt of approval and funding from the Federal Aviation Administration.

The board entered into an executive session prior to adjourning to discuss a personnel matter, according to the meeting’s agenda.

Plessinger’s airport manager report notes Avis/Budget manager Nick Bechtel’s hire anniversary date was June 8 and Ashley Crocker’s hire anniversary date is July 1.

Mirror Staff Writer Matt Churella is at 814-946-7520.