The 2019 College Football Playoff semifinals might be 10 days away, but round-trip flights from Baton Rouge to Atlanta are already being gobbled up by LSU fans wanting to see the top-ranked LSU Tigers take on the No. 4 Oklahoma Sooners at the Dec. 28 Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl.
Demand seems to be on the rise: Half of the 10 flights departing the airport on Friday, Dec. 27, are sold out, says BTR spokesman Jim Caldwell, noting each flight that isn’t sold out is still at least 50% booked.
“Nonstops on Delta to Atlanta are well above the average load factors for Fridays and Sundays, but there are still seats available,” Caldwell says. “It’ll probably be one of the highest-demand Fridays we have for the whole year.”
Among those flights with seats remaining is a new McDonnell Douglas MD-88 mainline aircraft from Delta, which BTR has added and promoted specifically as a way to travel to the much-hyped football game. Based on bookings thus far, Caldwell suspects LSU fans will take up most of the seats on the flight, which departs Friday at 10:30 a.m. and returns to Baton Rouge on Sunday at 12:30 p.m.
A similarly promoted flight was offered by United for LSU’s first game of the season, against the University of Texas at Austin, which Caldwell expects demand for the upcoming semifinals to mirror. Overall, he estimates in-and-out traffic over the three-day period (Dec. 27-29) to total roughly between 7,000 and 8,000 travelers.
A cursory Google search shows Delta Airlines currently has the best deals for a round-trip flight departing BTR and arriving at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, with tickets priced at $844 for a Friday departure and Sunday return. Other round-trip flights are going for as high as $1,701.
Though prices are getting hefty, Caldwell says BTR offers travelers a marked convenience, with fast and simple security clearance, adding local fares were significantly lower before demand kicked in for flights to Atlanta.
If the Tigers win the Dec. 28 matchup, they’ll move onto the 2020 College Football Playoff National Championship game in New Orleans, competing against the other semifinal winner on Jan. 13.
