Mumbai05 Aug 22 1 Traveller Economy
Showing International Flight from New Orleans
About New Orleans
New Orleans is a popular tourist destination in the United States of America. It is known for its Creole cuisine and European-style architecture. The city is known for its dynamic music scenes, too. You will hear a lot of jazz, rock 'n' roll, blues and Zydeco music in the city. Mardi Gras is one of the main reasons for tourists to plan a trip to New Orleans. Parties are happening in the city throughout the year with or without Mardi Gras. You can head to the clubs at Bourbon Street if you want to go partying till the wee hours. There is always one festival or another happening in the city. The city has also been victim to environmental disasters like Hurricane Katrina, BP Oil Spill and Hurricane Isaac, but it stands strong. A lot of tourists prefer taking a walking tour of the city. You can walk through the French Quarter and other major architectural sites. You can end your day with a delicious plate of jambalaya and a couple of drinks. You will have the time of your life in New Orleans.
Best Time to Visit New Orleans
February to May is a popular time to visit New Orleans, majorly because of Mardi Gras. Make sure you book a hotel in New Orleans several weeks in advance because not only will the hotels be packed but also, you will find it difficult to get cheap flight tickets to New Orleans. Since it is also when Mardi Gras takes place, a lot of popular tourist attractions are shut. If you want to add sightseeing for your trip, it is best not to plan it during Mardi Gras. The temperature ranges from 10 to 29 degree Celsius and is quite pleasant. It is comfortably warm, though the days can get pretty hot towards the end of the spring season. While Mardi Gras is one of the most popular reasons for people to visit New Orleans, you can attend the other festivals in the city, too, during the spring season. Tennessee Williams/Literary Festival, French Quarter Festival, New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival and New Orleans Wine and Food Experience are some of the other popular events that you can attend during these months.
June to August is when summer kicks in and the days can get pretty hot. The temperature ranges from 24 to 33 degree Celsius. Since there is barely any precipitation leading to humidity, the heat will be quite uncomfortable and scorching. It also rains a lot in summer, so you will have to pack your umbrellas, too. It is not the best time to visit the city if you can't deal with the blistering heat. You can attend the Louisiana Cajun-Zydeco Festival, New Orleans Pride Festival, COOLinary New Orleans, Satchmo Summerfest and Red Dress Run in summer. Make sure you are well-hydrated and carry sunblock with you at all times. September to November is the autumn season in New Orleans, and it is an ideal time to visit the city. The temperature ranges from 13 to 30 degree Celsius. It gets colder towards the end of autumn, but there is also the risk of hurricanes from June to November. Despite the hurricane threat, there are quite a few events hosted in the city. You can book a hotel in New Orleans at a low price since it is not peak tourist season. You will also come across exciting flight deals to New Orleans online. You can attend events like the Louisiana Seafood Festival, Crescent City Blues and BBQ Festival, New Orleans Film Festival, Voodoo Music + Arts Experience, Oak Street Po-Boy Festival and Celebration in the Oaks.
December to January is winter in New Orleans and is another good time to visit the city. The temperature ranges from 8 to 17 degree Celsius, and the city gets relief from the scorching heat. This is the perfect time to get good deals on hotels, and you can also witness the festive spirit of New Orleans first hand. Sugar Bowl is a very popular event that has families hooked to their televisions. You will also find a lot of pubs and sports bars in the city screening it so that you can enjoy it with lots of beer.
Places to Visit in New Orleans
Bourbon Street is one of the most happening places in New Orleans. It is one of the oldest streets in the cities. If you want to go out partying, Bourbon Street has a lot of pubs and nightclubs. You can also go club-hopping here and have the time of your life. The French Quarter is another place in the city that is worth a visit. You can catch street performances here and a lot of historical buildings that you can visit like the St Louis Cathedral, Cabildo and Presbytere. French Quarter has a very Bohemian feel to it. Add a little spook to your trip by visiting the Voodoo Museum. It has historical and mystic relevance to it. It is believed that in the 1800s, an amalgamation between Creole culture and Voodoo dancing created jazz music. You can also visit the Moonwalk Riverside Promenade. Take a stroll by the Mississippi River and enjoy a romantic sunset. New Orleans also has a lot of museums for art lovers, nature lovers and history buffs. Make sure you attend the New Orleans Jazz Museum, too, if you are a fan of the genre.
Your sightseeing and outdoor plans might get affected a lot if you are heading to New Orleans during Mardi Gras. A lot of sightseeing spots are shut during Mardi Gras since the entire city wants to enjoy it and ensure that tourists do the same. The city also has a lot of beautiful swamps that offer activities like fishing, kayaking and air boating. Preservation Hall is a popular spot in New Orleans where a lot of live music events and jazz brunches are hosted. St Louis Cathedral is one of the most important landmarks in New Orleans and was built in the 1700s. The cathedral was destroyed twice but was rebuilt again.
Things to do in New Orleans
Mardi Gras is a big reason for people to fly to New Orleans. Apart from enjoying the carnival, you can also try a lot of things to spruce up your holiday. New Orleans has a very active and vibrant nightlife. Bourbon Street and Frenchmen street are quite popular party destinations. You can go partying or shopping at one or both of these places. You can also sign up for a sightseeing tour of the city or a New Orleans Swamp tour. As strange as it might seem, the city also organises cemetery tours. Make sure you also visit the Voodoo Museum for a spooky tour.
Foods and Restaurants in New Orleans
If you are planning a trip to New Orleans, make sure you give your diet a rest. It is a culinary delight, and you won't forget it for a long time. You can enjoy cuisines from all over the world in New Orleans. However, it is known for its Creole and Cajun cuisines. You can try traditional New Orleans dishes like red beans and rice and PO-boys, Cajun and Creole jambalaya and gumbo are some of the popular dishes you will find in menus here. Cafe du Monde is a popular cafe that serves the best Beignets in the world. It also got featured in the popular Hollywood film, Chef. The French Quarter has quite a lot of Creole restaurants and French restaurants, too. It is best to sign up for a food tour or attend one of the food festivals. You might come across discounts and offers on the menus during festivals. If you are in the mood for dessert, head over to Angelo Brocato Ice Cream. You can also try Olde Nola Cookery for traditional Cajun and Creole cuisine along with some seafood. Paladar 511 is popular for serving the best pizzas in the neighbourhood. Head over to The Rum House for the Caribbean and Latin food.
How to reach New Orleans
Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport is owned by the New Orleans city and is about 18 km from downtown New Orleans. The flight connectivity to New Orleans from India is quite good. KLM, American Airlines, United Airlines, Lufthansa have frequent flights to New Orleans with layovers at Amsterdam, London, Chicago, Dallas and Newark. If you book well in advance, you might get exciting flight deals to New Orleans from India. You will get a taxi or car rental service from the airport quite easily. The airport has quite a lot of facilities like premium lounges, restaurants, cafes, shopping areas, currency exchange and so on. You can also book a hotel in New Orleans near the airport if you have an early flight to catch or if you want to avoid the commute. You can also get cheap flight tickets to New Orleans if you book several weeks in advance or if you are travelling during the offseason.
About Alaska Airlines
Alaska Airlines is recognised as one of the major American airlines with its headquarters in SeaTac, Washington. The airline works within the Seattle metropolitan area. It is touted to be in the top five of largest airlines list in the United States. The record is with respect to fleet size, passengers carried as on schedule along with the number of destinations it serves. Alaska Airlines also has subsidiaries with regional partners, namely, Horizon Air and SkyWest Airlines. Together, they operate a massive network domestic route. The primary focus is on connecting flights from Pacific Northwest and Alaska that network to over a hundred destinations within the United States, Mexico, Hawai, Costa Rica and Canada. Alaska Airlines' primary hub is at Seattle/Tacoma. It also includes four more hubs within the United States. The airline is currently not part of any of the three big airline alliances. However, it has been revealed that the airline does have plans to join forces with Oneworld by 2021. While it is not part of any of the airline alliances, Alaska Airlines has codeshare agreements with 17 airlines. These airlines include the members of the alliance of Oneworld, Star Alliance and SkyTeam.
The airline's operations commenced in 1944 and have been functioning through 76 years now. Alaska Airlines is headed by Alaska Air Group. The headquarters of Alaska Air Group is located in SeaTac, Washington. In 2018, Alaska Airlines unveiled some plans to construct a 128,000 square-foot to expand the office space and help accommodate the growing workforce. The new building is set to be located adjacent to Alaska's Corporate Headquarters.
Alaska Airlines' livery and logo have been retained for the last 50 years. It has the word Alaska on the front of the fuselage, and an image of a native Alaskan Eskimo sketched on the vertical stabiliser, which is the logo. The addition of Eskimo appeared first in 1972 along with three other logos. All of them are inspired by the Alaskan history, a totem pole, Russian spires and a gold miner. For the logo, the Eskimo is seen wearing a traditional qulittaq, which is a parka with a ruff. After a lot of edits and recommendations, eventually, in 2016, the livery and logo underwent a massive redesign and rebranding. The Alaskan wordmark was streamlined with a simplified design and an Eskimo logo. The ruffs on the parka of the Eskimo received some hues. The fuselage of planes in the Alaska Airlines has a jelly bean design along with waves of shades of blue (navy blue, teal, dark blue and green) flowing on the sides of the vertical stabiliser. Over the years, the airline has introduced Disney and Pixar-themed characters in the liveries.
Fleet size of Alaska Airlines
In total, Alaska Airlines operates about 321 aircraft as part of its fleet. Its primary fleet includes 166 Boeing 737 aircraft that have an average age of 9.1 years and 71 Airbus A320 aircraft with an average of 8.6 years. These are mostly reserved for international routes. Along with this, the airline's regional flights are also operated under the Alaska Airlines brand which operates aircrafts 33 Bombardier Q400 aircraft which has an average of 11.7 years and 30 Embraer 175 aircraft which has an average of 1.6 years. The two planes are Alaska-owned and are used by the regional airlines Horizon Air as well as SkyWest Airlines. As part of the mainline fleet, Alaska Airlines operates all all-Boeing 737 aircraft from 2008 until 2018. After 2018, the airline officially took charge of Virgin America's fleet comprising of the Airbus aircraft. Alaska Airline's long-term strategic plan is to return to its operations of the all-Boeing 737 mainline fleet. The transition to return to an all-Boeing mainline fleet might take a considerable amount of time as much of the Airbus A320 aircraft has been leased.
Contracts of the Airbus A320 family flights will be expiring somewhere between 2021 and 2024. The airline also supports cargo aircraft and includes three Boeing 737-700 freighter jets. These were formerly passenger aircraft, but they converted to cargo aircraft in 19 months between 2016 and 2017. The same was conducted by Israel Aerospace Industries. Alaska has since forever, functioned with various Boeing and Airbus aircraft as part of its fleet. They also had Convair 880 and Convair 990 jetliner in the 1960s. However, they have all ceased to operate since before the 1990s.
Alaska Airlines Baggage Allowance
Passengers travelling with Alaska Airlines are allowed to carry a plus one bag which should be the size of the 22'' x 14'' x 9''. The dimensions need to be followed, and this includes wheels and handles that should be measured ahead of the journey. Along with cabin baggage, Alaska Airlines' baggage allowance also enables you to carry a small handbag or laptop bag. It could also be a briefcase, as long as it can fit under the passenger seat. The Overhead bin can accommodate the carry-on bag while the small bag can be placed under the seat. You must go through the official website of Alaska Airlines to avoid carrying any unnecessary items onboard. The rule to carry one bag along with plus one bag are allowed for all first class, business class and other cabins in the aircraft. The airline also allows its passengers to extend the count for check-in baggage at a nominal fee.
Special baggage that can be carried along onboard is also available. These include bags with bulky and fragile items, perishable goods, sporting equipment and musical instruments. The airline also has special reservations for passengers who have health conditions to carry necessary medical equipment. These include medical syringes and other such medicinal drugs. Wheelchairs and strollers can also be taken within the flight cabin for passengers who have mobility issues or are travelling with infants. Details of regulation regarding special situations can be perused on Alaska Airlines' official website. For check-in bags, the weight of the baggage cannot exceed 23 kg, even for long haul flights taking international routes.
Alaska Airlines In-flight services
First-class - Alaska Airlines' in-flight services are phenomenal and differ depending on the cabin chosen by the passenger. If you are a first-class passenger, you will receive some exquisite perks, including that of priority boarding, complimentary hot meals, beverages and alcoholic cocktails, snacks and towel services. Further, you can also ask for blankets and pillows to make your journey comfortable. The first-class recliner seats are also available which have lavish legroom and privacy.
Premium Class - Instead of a separate business class, the airline directly has a Premium Class which is available on all of Alaska Airlines' mainline and regional aircraft. The premium cabin features some amazing seat pitch which is 35 ft with four more inches in the main cabin. Passengers also receive priority during boarding. In-flight services on Alaska Airlines' premium class include complimentary snacks, alcoholic beverages, fresh food that can be purchased and upgrades for elite fliers who are part of Alaska Airlines' mileage loyalty program. Premium class came into existence by the end of 2015 and has been rolled out since.
Main Cabin - The main cabin is the economy class where the passengers are entitled to receive complimentary snacks and non-alcoholic beverages. You can also order fresh meals, alcoholic beverages along with additional snacks that are up for purchase. All the seats on the main cabin have USB ports as well as power outlets to charge electronic gadgets such as tablets, mobile phones, laptops and more.
In-flight services - Alaska Airlines' in-flight services include complimentary meals as well as light snacks that will be served at the first-class cabin and can be purchased in other classes. The economy class also has "picnic packs" that can be purchased. The food prepared in the airlines has been curated by Seattle-based check Tom Douglas. In terms of entertainment, the airlines have the World Airline Entertainment Association (WAEA). They have a hard-drive-based AVOD (Audio Video on Demand) players that offer a slew of films, TV shows and audio programs. Other benefits of Alaska Airlines' in-flight services include WiFi connectivity too. The equipped in-flight WiFi and streaming entertainment system makes networking on flight easier as well as surfing through the internet.
Popular routes and top cities for Alaska Airlines
Alaska Airlines' domestic routes and international route system has enabled excellent connectivity of more than 115 destinations worldwide. Majorly, the airline, along with its subsidiaries, caters to the United States, Mexico, Costa Rica and Canada. Alaska Airlines is predominantly one of the largest carriers catering to the West coast of the United States of America. The airline has a top presence in cities such as San Diego, Anchorage and Seattle, to name a few.
Why travel by Alaska Airlines?
Alaska Airlines is the perfect carrier for travelling across the West Coast in the United States. The airline connectivity is phenomenal as the domestic routes cover major cities. Not to mention how some of the international routes networks that connect with Mexico and Canada further add to the benefits of travelling by Alaska Airlines. Other perks of Alaska Airlines include web check-in, knowing about the flight status, checking the flight schedule and booking an Alaska Airlines flight online.
