NEWS FROM MSY
2017 Another Record-Setting Year for Passengers
The Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport (MSY) set an all-time record in 2017 with 12,009,512 passengers served. Previous records were 10.6 million passengers in 2015 and 11.1 million in 2016. The airport has seen an overall increase in passengers of 35 percent since 2010.
Numbers are expected to keep climbing as the North Terminal is completed in February 2019.
New Flights for 2018
February
Delta Air Lines launched twice weekly service to Seattle and Boston
March
Spirit Airline to begin seasonal, nonstop service to Columbus, Ohio
April
Spirit Airlines to launch nonstop service four times a week to Atlantic City International Airport beginning April 13. This will mark 19 nonstop daily Spirit flights from New Orleans to 17 destinations. Southwest Airlines to launch nonstop weekly flights to Sacramento and San Jose, along with a weekly flight to Cancun
May
Vacation Express to expand their service to Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic
NATIONAL RANKINGS
New Orleans No. 2 for Women in Computer and Math Careers
According to a recent report from The Brookings Institution, Greater New Orleans ranks second among large cities (population of 500,000+) for women employed in computer and math careers. With women accounting for 31.9 percent of these jobs, the region ranks only behind Sacramento, California.
- Sacramento – Roseville-Arden-Arcade, CA = 33.4%
- New Orleans-Metairie, LA = 31.9%
- Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD = 30.9%
- Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV = 30.7%
- Memphis, TN-MS-AR = 30.7%
- Richmond, VA = 30.3%
- Birmingham-Hoover, AL = 28.3%
- Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis, WI = 28.0%
- Providence-Warwick, RI-MA = 27.8%
- Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI = 27.6%
“If these cuts materialize, they could lead to a drastic reduction of some hospital services and medical education in communities across Louisiana.”
Paul A. Salles, president and CEO of the Louisiana Hospital Association
in a statement released Jan. 22 following the release of proposed healthcare budget cuts in the Executive Budget for the Fiscal Year 2018-2019, presented that day to the Joint Legislative Committee on the Budget.
HOSPITALITY
Airbnb Prices Soared up to 2,000 Percent During Carnival
Increases reaching up to over 2,000 percent were reported on Airbnb rentals in New Orleans over Carnival this year by Airbnb WATCH, an affordable housing advocate and consumer watchdog group. In a report released Feb. 7, the organization compared prices on rentals advertised between Feb. 2 and Feb. 6 with rentals being offered February 13 and 14. A dozen sample rentals noted increases ranging between 111 percent to 2,074 percent.
NOW OPEN
Bilten Park Named Louisiana’s No. 1 Megasite for Manufacturing
Recently opened for sale/lease and development by Stirling Properties, a 6,031-acre site called Bilten Park — located at the intersection of Interstate 12 and Highway 434 in St. Tammany Parish — has been named Louisiana’s No. 1 megasite for future advanced manufacturing and logistics.
“The Bilten Park site is strategically located to provide ready access to logistical infrastructure assets,” said Louisiana Economic Development Secretary Don Pierson. Assets include 3.5 linear miles of frontage along Interstate 12, and proximity to numerous major markets.
