Armstrong International Airport Closes 2013 on a High Note
Over 9.2 Million Passengers Served
(NEW ORLEANS, LA) - For the fourth consecutive year, Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport has experienced an amazing increase in passenger volume. According to the 2013 statistical summary for enplanements and deplanements, the Airport moved 9,207,636 passengers in 2013, which makes for an 18% increase over the 7,787,373 passengers in 2009. The 7.1% increase in 2013 is credited in large part to the fact that the New Orleans Region continues to be a top flight destination for leisure, conventions and business.
Today, the millions of passengers traveling from New Orleans can select one of eleven airlines presently operating on three (3) concourses at the Airport for their air travel needs. They are: Air Tran Airways, American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Frontier Airlines, jetBlue Airways, Southwest Airlines, Spirit Airlines, US Airways, United Airlines and international carriers/operators Air Canada and vacationexpress.com. Spirit Airlines and Vacation Express, operated through Aero Mexico, are the newest airlines to begin service into New Orleans. New non-stop destinations added to the New Orleans line-up last year included Cancun, Mexico and Austin, Texas. Key West, Florida and Trenton, NJ were also announced but the airlines subsequently decided to cease all commercial flight operations at those locations. New Orleans presently serves 42 non-stops. Of the 42 non-stop markets from New Orleans, 32 saw increases in capacity in 2013 over 2012. Southwest Airlines continues to be the volume leader at Armstrong International with 33% of the passenger volume. Southwest recently announced San Diego as their latest non-stop addition starting April 8, 2014. Alaska Airlines will begin non-stop direct service to Seattle on June 12, 2014, bringing the total number of airlines serving the New Orleans Market to twelve (12). A new international destination will be added to a choice of direct international destinations from New Orleans when vacationexpress.com begins their new summer seasonal service to Montego Bay, Jamaica. They will be adding additional flights to Cancun for their 2014 summer seasonal service as well.
New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu said, "This is further proof of the growing demand for service in the New Orleans region as we continue to build a world-class airport. We will continue to work with the New Orleans Aviation Board, regional leaders and industry stakeholders to keep the momentum going."
"The New Orleans Aviation Board (NOAB) with the support of Mayor Landrieu has worked very hard to increase air service to our market. We are committed to maintaining the service we presently have and to adding new carriers and destinations when the opportunity avails itself," said NOAB Chairwoman Cheryl Teamer.
"According to latest available federal data, Armstrong Airport was 8.2% up month ending November in 2013 while across the nation airports saw an average decrease of 2.7%," said Airport Director of Aviation Iftikhar Ahmad. "This gap makes for than 10% positive lead by New Orleans with the rest of the nation."
For more information about flight service at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport, visit the airport website, www.flymsy.com.
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