The airline was founded in 1974 as a tax-break by Gunter Eheim, a German World War II test pilot and later manufacturer of aquarium filters, initially operating chartered passenger services using a small fleet of Dassault Falcon 20 and Learjet[specify] aircraft.

[2] In 1984, Contact Air was subcontracted by DLT to operate one of its Jetstreams on scheduled regional flights on behalf of Lufthansa.

[1] Having waged the alternative of ordering the ATR 42, Contact Air announced in 1986 that it had chosen the de Havilland Canada Dash 8-100 for a fleet enlargement, thus becoming the second European airline to operate that type, after Tyrolean Airways.

[3][4] Two years later, Contact Air became the first non-Canadian buyer of the stretched Dash 8-300 version, ordering three aircraft worth $35 million.

[6] In May 2012, Contact Air agreed to be taken over by OLT Express Germany, a step which was finalized in September of that year following its approval by the Federal Cartel Office.