New Orleans Flights

When you fly in and out of NO your best bet for transportation to the Quarter is the 30+ cab ride. There is no convenient public transportation. Seek out the staff that arrange /supervise the traxis as they cue up for the next customer.

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Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport(MSY) was the first thing we saw in NO, a normal airport with a legendary name of course and pictures of jazz players all over some walls :) It’s located 11 miles away from downtown New Orleans

From the airport to the city
Here are your options:
1)There is a shuttle bus that charges $20 per person one way (or $38 round trip)
the Airport Shuttle Ticket Desk, located across from baggage claim areas 3, 6 and 12. Service is available on a continuous basis with vans departing approximately every 30 minutes.
For Departure Reservations, call 504-522-3500 no later than 24 hours prior to your flight and don’t forget to inform the Reservationist of any international flight in order to schedule an earlier pick-up time. www.flymsy.com/
2)The taxi is the best way to get from the airport to the city(and cheaper to shuttle!). It’s a 10 mile ride to the French Quarter and the fixed price is $33 for 1-2 persons or $14 per passenger for 3 or more passengers. Pick-up is on the lower level, outside the baggage claim area. There may be an additional charge for extra baggage, they didn’t ask for it but we gave a tip anyway.
3)you may want to check the local bus which is the cheapest option but maybe you’ll have issues with a lot of luggage.
4)by car. There is very limited parking in the French Quarter and if you stay there you wont need one

I fly to New Orleans at least once a year. I just booked a last minute trip for a weekend that happens to be Jazzfest. The flights to MSY were quite expensive. I checked out flying into the Baton Rouge airport. The rental car rate was about 1/2 price and the ticket price -$100. It is about 1 hour outside from New Orleans, but I have the time and the drive from MSY is at least 20 minutes.

You can stay just outside the city of New Orleans(Metearie) and take cab to the french quarter; and to and from the airport.

Excellent party town and excellent food; I can only hope is survived Kattina.

Bill

The original airport was on the lakefront, and 648 acres was purchased in Kenner for a proposed new airport, which was to be named for John Moisant, an early aviation pioneer. WW II intervened and the land was taken over for use as a military airbase. In 1946, the Federal Government returned the land plus 295 adjacent acres to the city, and commercial air service began in May of that year. In August 2001, the Airport's name was changed to the Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport in honor of the famous native born musician's 100th birthday.

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Airlines that operate out of NOLA include (in alphabetical order)

AirCanada.
AirTran
America West
American Airlines
Continental
Delta
Frontier
Northwest
Southwest
Taca
United
USAirways

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Louis Armstrong International Airport is located just west of the City of New Orleans. You can take a taxi into the city, or, if you're not in a hurry, there's a cheaper shuttle bus that hits the major hotels in the French Quarter.

Due to the constant conventions, cruises, and festivals such as Mardi Gras and JazzFest, New Orleans' Louis Armstrong Airport is one of the most congested in the country. Rather than re-stating the obvious, I will simply quote the airport's website:

If you are coming to Armstrong International to pick up an arriving passenger, Airport officials and Law Enforcement recommend parking in the Airport's Short-term Parking Garage immediately adjacent to the terminal building. The Short-term Garage has 2,500 parking spaces and is available at only $2.00 for the first hour. Travelers are encouraged to park in the Short-term Garage rather than circling the roadway system which is expected to be congested, especially in the evening hours.

If you are departing through Armstrong International today through Thursday, February 10, you should arrive at least two (2) hours prior to your scheduled departure time.

Check the status of your flight prior to coming to the Airport. This can be done through your airline's web site or at the "Flight Schedules" link on this site. This should be done if you are traveling or coming to the Airport to pick up an arriving passenger.

If you have a flight leaving MSY in the afternoon (4:00 pm to 5:30 PM) beprepared to spend close to an hour in the security line. Every afternoon they line consists of 1200 to 1500 people and there are only 2 screening stations (Frontier terminal). I would highly recommend you call your airline and check on how long it will take to clear security to determine what time you need to get there. Makes LAX look like a walk in the park.