New airline eyeing Baton Rouge

The announcement Monday that Southwest Airlines is adding new nonstop flights this fall between New Orleans and Austin, Texas, is good news for travelers not only in the Crescent City but also in Baton Rouge, which is just an hour’s drive from Louis Armstrong International Airport. But it’s not a cause for celebration at Baton Rouge Metro Airport, which struggles—like most smaller airports—to increase service and attract new carriers. “Anytime a competing airport gets something new like that, it doesn’t help us,” says Jim Caldwell, the airport’s marketing director. That said, sources tell Daily Report BTR is in talks with a small, regional airline that is considering adding flights from Baton Rouge to other destinations in the South. Caldwell confirms negotiations are under way but will not disclose the name of the airline involved. He also says the airport continues to reach out to other airlines but concedes it’s a hard sell because of market conditions nationwide. “There has been no increase in seating capacity, domestically, over the past five years, and with the mergers you’re down to just the network carriers,” he says. “The pickings are slim.” On the bright side, flight service at the Baton Rouge airport was up about 10% in April over the same period last year, a fact Caldwell attributes to the addition of a handful of new flights and also to the use of larger aircraft. —Stephanie Riegel