Metro Airport lands new marketing head

The Baton Rouge Metropolitan Airport has a new director of sales and marketing. Jim Caldwell, former regional sales manager for AirTran Airways, was hired two weeks before Christmas to replace the airport’s previous marketing director, Ronnie Pickard, who took a job with the Houston Airport System in October. Caldwell spent eight years with discount AirTran and has also worked in sales and marketing for Piedmont Airlines, US Airways and Dollar Rental Car. Aviation Director Anthony Marino says Caldwell did his homework on Baton Rouge, putting together a marketing package for the interview that “hit it right on the head” in terms of identifying deficiencies in the city’s air service. Marino says Caldwell’s long relationship with AirTran and insider’s knowledge of the industry can’t hurt the airport’s longstanding efforts to lure AirTran’s discount air service. “Not that that means we’re going to get AirTran tomorrow, but he’s going to be able to help us when we’re making those presentations,” Marino says. “He’s going to add a lot of credibility.”—Steve Clark