We're back from the 11:00 a.m. ceremony. Chris Wahlenmaier, Vice President of Ground Operations, presented the airport with a model SWA Boeing 737-700 plane. Carol Lowe, deputy director of aviation for MSY, and Mary Beth Romig, New Orleans Convention and Visitors Bureau Director of Communications and Public Relations were also in attendance.

10:15 a.m.: The crowds are slowly trickling in, and the DJ has just arrived. I've spent the past hour frantically cutting King cake for hungry Customers and Employees alike. As is King Cake tradition, there's a plastic baby hidden inside each doughnut-shaped treat. Usually the person who receives the baby has to bring the King Cake to the next party.

Get ready for some live blogging as Christi Day and I spend the day at New Orleans Louisiana's (NOLA) Airport MSY to celebrate Southwest's 30 years of service here.  Home to jazz, po' boys, and Mardi Gras, this day is guaranteed to be anything but boring. We caught the first flight out of DAL at 6:55 and just arrived at 8:15.

Enjoy this mix of Southwest Airlines commercials from the 1970s!