Delta set to add larger jet for flight
DC9 to serve BR-Atlanta route
BY TIMOTHY BOONE
Advocate business writer
October 03, 2012
Delta Air Lines will replace one of the regional jets on its Baton Rouge-Atlanta route with a larger DC9 jet, a move that will bump the number of seats from 50 to 120.
The larger mainline jet service will begin Nov. 4. The jet will depart Atlanta at 1:50 p.m. and arrive at Baton Rouge Metro Airport at 2:26 p.m., then leave Baton Rouge at 3:05 p.m., arriving in Atlanta at 5:35 p.m.
Once the DC9 starts flying out of Baton Rouge Metro, it will join Louis Armstrong International in New Orleans as the only Louisiana airport with mainline jet service, airport spokesman Jim Caldwell said.
“That will be nice for our passengers, since they will have first-class seating and more leg room,” Caldwell said.
He said getting a bigger plane to service the market is a big opportunity for Baton Rouge.
Delta plans to phase out many of its 50-seat CRJ 200 jets throughout the next few years and replace them with larger planes like the DC9 in the markets that can support more seats.
“If passengers from our region support the service, it might lead to bigger aircraft being scheduled on more Delta flights, either via larger regional jets or mainline jet service,” Caldwell said.
The percentage of seats filled on the Delta flights between Baton Rouge and Atlanta are averaging between 86 percent and 88 percent, according to numbers provided by Baton Rouge Metro.
By November, there will be eight daily flights departing Baton Rouge for Atlanta.
Caldwell said airlines typically drop the number of flights in the winter and restore service in the spring and summer.