By Air in New Orleans

Flying time is 2½ hours from New York, 2¼ hours from Chicago, 1¼ hours from Dallas, 4½ hours from Los Angeles, 4¼ hours from San Francisco, and 9¼ hours from London.

Airports

The major gateway to New Orleans is Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport (MSY), 15 mi west of the city in Kenner. There's an Airport exit off Interstate 10. An alternative route is Airline Drive, which will take you directly to the airport from Tulane Avenue or the Earhart Expressway. Be prepared for many stoplights.

Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport (900 Airline Dr., Kenner. 504/464-0831).

Transfers Between Airports

Shuttle-bus service to and from the airport and downtown hotels, as well as local hospitals and the uptown college campuses, is available through New Orleans Tours Airport Shuttle. Buses leave regularly from the ground-floor level near the baggage claim. To return to the airport, call 24 hours in advance of flight time. The cost one-way is $13 per person, and the trip takes about 40 minutes.

Louisiana Transit also runs a bus between the airport, the CBD, and Mid-City. The trip costs $1.60 in exact change ($1.10 from Carrollton and Tulane avenues) and takes about 45 minutes. Departures for the airport are every 10 to 20 minutes from Elks Place and Tulane Avenue across from the main branch of the New Orleans Public Library, and from the corner of Tulane and Carrollton avenues. The last bus leaves at 7:40 PM from Tulane and Elks Place, 11:45 PM from Tulane and Carrollton.

A cab ride to or from the airport from uptown or downtown New Orleans costs $28 for the first two passengers, then $12 for each additional passenger. Pick-up is on the lower level, outside the baggage-claim area. There may be an additional charge for extra baggage.

By car, take the Interstate 10 Expressway (from the CBD, go west to the Airport exit). Allow an hour for the drive during afternoon rush hour; without traffic, the drive takes a half hour.

Taxis & Shuttles

Louisiana Transit (504/818-1077). New Orleans Tours Airport Shuttle (504/522-3500).