Las Vegas air traffic continues strong growth

Monday, Dec. 27, 1999 | 3:20 a.m.

For the sixth consecutive month McCarran International Airport has registered a double-digit increase in its passenger count.

The 2.85 million arriving and departing passengers in November is an 11.5 percent increase from the same month a year ago.

So far this year, passenger count at the Las Vegas airport is up 11.9 percent from last year, a total of nearly 31.1 million.

"It's a lot more than we anticipated," said Randy Walker, director of the Clark County Department of Aviation.

The last couple of years had been marked by flat growth following a period of double-digit increases, and airline analysts said Las Vegas was suffering from a shortage of long-haul routes.

Concerns by gambling and tourism officials that the lack of air service would hinder efforts to bring tourists to Las Vegas following a colossal expansion of the city's hotel room inventory - which increased by 10,000 rooms in 1999 - were allayed when the airline industry responded to visitor demand.

The long-haul market is up more than 30 percent in seat capacity over the last several months and load factors are higher, Walker said.

Overall, seat capacity has increased 7 percent to 8 percent for the year, he said. The launch of Las Vegas-based National Airlines in June helped boost long-haul service.

Also, Southwest Airlines, the No. 1 carrier at McCarran with about 85 daily scheduled flights, has added four new flights to Indianapolis; Omaha, Neb.; Columbus, Ohio; and New Orleans.

Southwest's November passenger count was 14.5 percent higher than the previous November and for the year it us up 11.9 percent.

America West, the No. 2 airline in Las Vegas, carried 13 percent more passengers this November than last and increased 4.7 percent for the year.