OK, I've decided to split the difference a bit, depart from LED a little early (my A/C system is not working, and it's long story, but I need to do a few other things to be able to address that, so I want to avoid an extended summer, and I'm hoping for normal luke-cool weather there in early Nov!) and leave MSY a little later, and just stick with that; hopefully I will accomplish my project list in the allotted 15-week time. So I am locked into my trip time.

I ended up getting the trip for $568 RT, and a layover hotel at AMS for only $63 (it fits my body-clock frame of waking up in the early afternoon LED time. and I shave about 4-1/2 hours of net door-to-door travel time on by doing such a layover, and this is a 2nd-day net time of about 18-1/2 hours, where the extra 4-1/2 hours would be when my body clock really doesn't want to afford it - and leaving MSY with ground transportation at about 21:00 on arrival should avoid any problem with the clusterfork traffic of the new terminal, if it happens to be operational then). Will be clearing customs in ATL with a nice fat (but not too fat) 2-1/2 hour layover (and ATL is the best airport in the East for catching a later flight to MSY). Anywhere but JFK!

As for Mardi Gras, as a former member of a krewe - but also as a skier that, due to the scheduling, does it for 1-1/2 months at the tail end of the season - I try to stay a little longer for the Mardi Gras when it is an early one. This year, it's Feb 25, but next year will be Feb 16, so I will just wait until next year to catch it. Ironically, when I do stay for Mardi Gras, I actually typically leave on Mardi Gras day, for which day flights are very easy to get (it's very difficult in the evening or the day after), as for me the "real" Mardi Gras Day is the Sunday before. If I really wanted to, I could catch a parade on the first major day of parades (i.e., the Friday that is a week and a half before Mardi Gras Day), but that would be the evening before my flight, and I always stay home the day before leaving (those early parades are rather dinky, so I'm not missing much).