EL DORADO — Contour Airlines began jet service Monday, March 16, 2026, between South Arkansas Regional Airport and Dallas–Fort Worth, with airport, city, chamber and airline officials marking the first day of operations.
The carrier’s published schedule calls for two daily round trips plus a third on Mondays, Thursdays, Fridays and Sundays on 30-seat regional jets — a step up from the prior turboprop Essential Air Service pattern. Launch day coverage noted introductory round-trip fares advertised from about $132 on Contour’s site.
For SEARK travelers who long drove to larger airports, the test now is ridership: fill the jets, keep the subsidy case strong, and treat ELD as the region’s preferred DFW connector.
Primary schedule/source: Contour press release; launch day reporting also via KNOE (March 16, 2026).