Southwest Adds 1.5 Million Seats in New Orleans Including a New Destination

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contact:
Michelle C. Wilcut
Media Relations
Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport
michelle@flymsy.com

  Southwest Adds 1.5 Million Seats in New Orleans Including a New Destination
Big Win for New Orleans

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - August 27, 2012, New Orleans - Today, Southwest Airlines announced it will increase its presence in New Orleans with a total of 114 daily flights by March 9, 2013.

Southwest currently operates 76 flights from New Orleans.  Air Tran Airways, a wholly owned subsidiary of Southwest, operates 8 daily flights.  The total number of flights offered from New Orleans will increase to 114 by March 2013.  This 35% increase in lift over the August schedule is a huge win for the New Orleans region.  These additional flights will bring approximately 1.5 Million additional seats into the market annually.

Southwest will serve Newark and Key West from New Orleans and AirTran will begin serving Orlando.  Each destination will have one daily non-stop flight on the March schedule.  The February schedule includes increases in frequency to cities like Dallas Love, Fort Lauderdale, Nashville and St. Louis.

New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu stated, "This additional air service is a big win for our city. I believe it shows that the demand for leisure and business travel to New Orleans is very strong. Demand is always the key in acquiring air service for a city, and this just adds to the recent confidence shown in our airport and our region."

Chairman of the Aviation Board, Nolan Rollins stated, "Southwest Airlines has made a serious pledge of support to the New Orleans market with this additional air service. On behalf of the New Orleans Aviation Board, I want to express our sincerest thanks for their vote of confidence in our city as a great destination."

"We are pleased with Southwest's decision to invest in the New Orleans market by adding this service," stated Iftikhar Ahmad, Director of Aviation for Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport. "Southwest has long been our largest air carrier and this shows their commitment to our community."

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