LV tourism officials campaigning for nonstop flights from Italy

Thursday, Dec. 9, 1999 | 11:18 a.m.

New flights

Southwest Airlines said it will add flights between Las Vegas and four destinations next spring.

The Dallas-based airline will add one daily flight each way between McCarran International Airport and New Orleans, Indianapolis; Columbus, Ohio; and Omaha, Neb.

The new flights will begin April 2 and are part of a 14-flight expansion by Southwest resulting from the delivery of new planes.

Las Vegas tourism officials will restart negotiations with Italian airlines now that the United States has signed an "open-skies" agreement with Italy.

The agreement, signed Monday in Chicago in conjunction with a transportation conference, eliminates government restrictions on how often airlines can fly and where they can go on flights between the two countries.

For Las Vegas, it means active pursuit of agreements with Air Europe, a Milan-based airline that has tested the local market with charter flights, to introduce regularly scheduled air service. That could include nonstop flights between McCarran International Airport and the major Italian population centers.

"We applaud the newest open-skies agreement and we hope it leads to better things for Las Vegas," said Harry Kassap, manager of air service development at McCarran. "Italy is a market we have targeted and we'd like to have a relationship in place so that service could start as soon as humanly possible."

Kassap said talks could begin in the first quarter of 2000.

While conducting negotiations with Air Europe would not prevent Las Vegas officials from talking to other airlines, Kassap said Air Europe represents the brightest hope for getting service quickly because of existing relationships.

Randy Walker, director of the Clark County Department of Aviation, has taken a personal interest in the negotiations with Air Europe because he used to live in Italy when serving a church mission.

Air Europe officials have told Las Vegans that the most likely destination for nonstop direct service would be Milan, the company's hub location. The airline is an established carrier at Milan's new Malpensa airport. Located in northern Italy, Milan not only is a tourism and cultural center, but it is also center of Italian commerce.

Air Europe operates a fleet of jumbo jets, including extended-range Boeing 767 jets and Boeing 777s.

Other carriers Las Vegas officials may make contact with:

The one American air carrier that offers overseas flights to Las Vegas isn't a likely candidate for flights to Italy. Kassap said McCarran is maintaining a good rapport with Minneapolis-based Northwest Airlines, which flies three times a week between Tokyo and Las Vegas.

Since Northwest is a hub-and-spoke type of air carrier, it flies most of its routes from hub locations to destinations. So, if Northwest bulks up its flights to Italy, it would likely offer additional flights there from Detroit or Minneapolis.

Tokyo is a key Asian hub for Northwest, which is why the airline flies directly to Las Vegas from there.

Thomas Foglietta, the U.S. ambassador to Italy, said Tuesday that the open-skies agreement would bring more tourists, jobs and wealth to both countries. A liberalized market also is expected to push down fares by increasing competition among carriers.

Foglietta predicted a rash of new flights between Italy and the United States this spring, to transport some of the 20 million pilgrims expected in Italy for the Roman Catholic church's Holy Year in 2000.

Northwest Airlines and Alitalia already have announced plans to launch daily nonstop flights between Detroit and Rome and Detroit and Milan. The flights, to be operated in conjunction with KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, are expected to begin in April.

Atlanta-based Delta Air Lines said Tuesday that it would start operating a nonstop daily flight between New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport and Venice in May.

U.S.-Argentina flights also will increase under an open-skies accord signed Monday in Buenos Aires. It provides for immediate unlimited access for U.S. and Argentine cargo airlines and will phase in additional access for U.S. passenger carriers.

Washington has similar agreements with 38 countries.