MSY Offers Incentives For New Routes
The combination of fewer tourists, less business and convention
traffic and a smaller home population continues to spell trouble
for Louis Armstrong International Airport in New Orleans, two years
after that city was ravaged by Hurricane Katrina.
USA Today reports departures at MSY in July were 24 percent
lower than those in July 2005, the last full month before the
August 29 storm battered the city. Southwest Airlines, the
airport's largest carrier, is only flying about half the flights to
and from New Orleans it did in 2005.
MSY Deputy Director Maggie Woodruff says the airport projects
service to return to about 90 percent of pre-Katrina levels by the
end of 2008. To attract new business, the airport is offering to
waive landing fees for up to 12 months for flights to new cities...
and cutting its per-passenger charge for airlines hitting the
airport's growth targets.
It is still an uphill battle. To date, only three airlines --
AirTran, Continental, and American -- have rebuilt their service to
near-2005 levels. Regional carrier ExpressJet has started service
at the airport; the Houston-based airline previously flew to MSY as
Continental Express.
Airlines have reduced the number of seats available at MSY by
about 32 percent from two years ago... which is in line with drops
in the city's tourist and resident populations. According to the
New Orleans Convention & Visitors Bureau, the number of leisure
travelers visiting The Big Easy is running at about 60 percent of
pre-Katrina levels.
Many believe only two-thirds the number of pre-storm residents
returned to New Orleans after Katrina, although exact numbers are
tough to come by.
Fewer flights also mean fewer cities served from MSY. Since
August 2005, the airport has lost service to Indianapolis, Oakland,
San Francisco and Toronto, among other cities; the city gained
non-stop service to Austin and San Antonio.
Business travelers have also shied away from the city; as ANN reported, Microsoft
had to cancel three conventions planned for New Orleans this year,
due to the lack of airline service.
The National Business Aviation Association -- which scrambled to
relocate its 2005 convention to Orlando following the hurricane --
announced in April it would also move its
planned 2008 convention from New Orleans, although
according to NBAA President Ed Bolen that wasn't MSY's
fault; rather, conditions at New Orleans Lakefront Airport (NEW),
where aircraft static displays would be located, haven't improved
sufficiently to support the displays.
MSY has enlisted the help of aviation consultant Michael Boyd to
attract new service. He says the airport is "doing everything it
can" to build service back to its former glory.
"When the city shut down, the airlines had to reallocate (their
planes), and they can't just put them back in," Boyd told USA
Today. "It's happening now, but just not happening as fast as it
can."