First scheduled nonstop flight between LV-Germany takes off

Thursday, May 8, 1997 | 11:59 a.m.

For Ernst and Christine Heckeler, spending 11 hours in a jet was a worthwhile endeavor.

The Heckelers and their friends, Karl and Rose Knauss, were passengers aboard Condor German Airlines' first scheduled nonstop flight between Frankfurt-Mein International Airport in Germany and Las Vegas on Wednesday.

The twin-engine Boeing 767 touched down six minutes early, just before noon, with 215 passengers aboard after 11 hours in the air in a route that swept near the North Pole and over Canada.

"We saved a lot of time doing it this way," said Christine Heckeler, who translated in English on behalf of her group.

She and her husband made a similar trip via Los Angeles years ago, but recognized Las Vegas as being a good central location for their exploration of the Southwest. The two families, who live in a village near Stuttgart, pooled resources for a motor home in their three-week vacation.

The Heckelers and the Knausses rented the RV after spending a night in Las Vegas and will be driving to Death Valley, Yosemite National Park, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Disneyland, Grand Canyon National Park, Monument Valley, then Arches, Bryce and Zion national parks. When they return in three weeks, they'll make the return flight to Frankfurt on Condor.

"German tourists save about four or five hours by taking this flight," said Sigrid Sommer, honorary consul for the Federal Republic of Germany, based in Las Vegas. "Many tourists are starting to recognize that Las Vegas is a great spot to start a vacation. The motel rooms here are the cheapest and getting a car rental is very convenient."

Condor has offered scheduled air service between Las Vegas and Cologne-Bonn since November and has run some direct charter operations. Flights to and from Bonn operate weekly on Mondays and the new Frankfurt flights run on Wednesdays. The flight arrives from Frankfurt -- a major European hub airport -- at 11:55 a.m. and the turnaround departs at 1:30 p.m.

Janet Gorecki, manager of single seat sales in North America for Condor, said advanced bookings are showing the route has great potential. Although Wednesday's flight to Germany was nearly empty, future flights are filling rapidly.

Gorecki said Condor's Cologne-Bonn flights routinely are full in the business class as was the flight from Frankfurt on Wednesday. The airline is working to beef up its lucrative first-class sales.

Gorecki said most German tourists are spending two weeks in the United States before returning home. Condor is attempting to track German travel habits to better define its marketing. For example, Gorecki knows many travelers are flying to Las Vegas for vacations, but some are flying directly to Las Vegas just to attend conventions here.

Gorecki said low fares are making the route popular as well -- a round-trip ticket when purchased in advance goes for $700.

Las Vegas isn't the only American market Condor is attempting to exploit. The airline has similar packages involving the two German destinations with Fort Lauderdale and Tampa, Fla. It offers seasonal service to Anchorage, Alaska, and is planning seasonal ski tours to Denver in November.

Gorecki said nationally, sales have tripled for Condor in the first quarter over last year.

The new Frankfurt service is good news for McCarran International Airport and the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority.

The flight solidifies the city's reach onto the European continent, said Harry Kassap, air service development coordinator at McCarran. International flights are harder to establish, Kassap explained, because open-sky agreements establishing a fair exchange of landing slots for carriers of both nations have to be arranged between governments of the involved countries.

Kassap had no hesitation when asked where he's like to get another international toehold: Asia.

"Anywhere in Asia would be outstanding," said Kassap, who said he regularly monitors bilateral negotiations to find out what nations are prime for potential air service.

"Our mission," said Kassap, "is to stay ahead of the curve."

William Mahaffey, travel and transportation administrator for the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, said another important international destination would be a city within the United Kingdom.

Mahaffey, a former marketing executive with Delta Air Lines, said Los Angeles International Airport is getting bogged down with traffic and that Las Vegas is being looked upon as a more favorable port of entry because of easy access at the airport and the abundance of accommodations within the city.

Kassap said the advantage of scheduled air service over charters is that Condor's seats out of Las Vegas can be sold by the vast network of travel agents nationwide.