Nonstop Mexico flights planned

Tuesday, March 14, 2000 | 11:16 a.m.

The local gambling industry will receive a boost this summer when one of Mexico's largest airlines begins daily nonstop service between Hermosillo, Mexico, and Las Vegas.

AeroMexico, which currently operates charter flights between Mexico City and Las Vegas, plans to begin scheduled service between the two cities on June 1.

Hermosillo is the capital of Sonora, one of Mexico's northwestern states. The city is about 60 miles from the coast of the Gulf of California. Sonora has a population of about 1.8 million.

Flights would leave Hermosillo at 10:20 a.m., arriving at McCarran International Airport at 12:05 p.m., and leave Las Vegas at 1:05 p.m., arriving in Hermosillo at 2:45 p.m.

Mayte Weitzman, an AeroMexico spokeswoman at the airline's U.S. headquarters in Houston, said the airline would continue to fly charters in addition to the new daily service.

Las Vegas would be AeroMexico's 11th U.S. destination.

The route is subject to approval by the Department of Transportation, but local tourism officials expect there to be no snags, since no airline currently serves the route.

"This is an opportunity to promote ourselves to the Mexican community," said Orlando Sandoval, president of the Latin Chamber of Commerce in Las Vegas. "It gives tourists an easier way to get here to spend their dollars for our economic well-being. I'm glad to see somebody is recognizing the importance of the Mexican dollar."

AeroMexico and Mexicana Airlines -- which is looking at Las Vegas service -- are Mexico's dominant air carriers, and Las Vegas tourism experts look at the Latin American market as one of the city's last frontiers for generating new customers.

"There's a lot of opportunity in South and Latin America and in Mexico in the next year, especially if the economies there rebound," said Harry Kassap, manager of air service development at McCarran.

Bill Mahaffey, manager of transportation for the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, noted Las Vegas already has nonstop flights from Tokyo and will beef up service from Europe when Virgin Atlantic Airlines begins nonstop service from London to Las Vegas in June.

But the Latin American market is virtually untapped and the AeroMexico and Mexicana proposals represent a good start for international flights south of the border, he said.

AeroMexico, which has a code-share agreement with Atlanta-based Delta Air Lines, would post the flight on Delta's schedule. AeroMexico planes would be used for operations and the airline announced it would use twin-engine MD-80 jets for the flights.

The airline has four types of MD-80s in its fleet with passenger capacities ranging from 109 to 142.

Meanwhile, Mexicana wants to fly two flights a week between Las Vegas and Guadalajara beginning in April. But those plans are on hold because of scheduling problems at McCarran.

Mexicana filed for approval from the Department of Transportation to use a Boeing 727 jet, configured for 150 passengers, on the route between Las Vegas and Guadalajara, Mexico's second-largest city.

Three federal government agencies that process international arrivals at McCarran said it would be too expensive to handle Mexicana's passengers at the proposed arrival time. The flights were scheduled to come in to Las Vegas at 12:20 a.m., Fridays and Mondays.

Representatives of U.S. Customs, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Immigration and Naturalization Service said the cost of operating inspection crews at that hour would be prohibitive and the agencies denied landing rights for Mexicana at that time.

Agency officials said they are open to Mexicana arrivals from Guadalajara -- if they occur at times that are more conducive to the agency's operations schedule.

The airline, which has a U.S. base of operation in San Antonio, is considering its options.

"Mexicana Airlines is seriously considering expansion of its operation in Las Vegas, with additional scheduled service to and from Mexico," said Jennifer Jenks, marketing manager for Mexicana in San Antonio. "Unfortunately, the international airport facilities do not seem to be available during the proposed hours of flight operation. Mexicana is hopeful that an agreement with the airport and authorities can be reached in the near future."

Agency officials explained that most of the international flights to Las Vegas arrive between 7 a.m. and 4 p.m. on various days. A 12:20 a.m. arrival would require additional staffing or overtime pay.

Karen Dorman, officer in charge of the Immigration and Naturalization Service in Las Vegas, said her agency staffs on a ratio of about one inspector for every 45 arriving passengers. Because Mexicana's Boeing 727 could hold 150 passengers, Dorman said four inspectors would be needed on a flight.

A shift of four inspectors would cost at least $800 to staff, she said. Currently, the agency has six full-time and five part-time inspectors available.

The INS is in charge of processing documents for passengers and reviewing passports of arriving visitors.

The situation is similar for inspectors for Customs and the Department of Agriculture.

The Department of Agriculture operates the Animal Plant Health Inspection Service and the Plant Protection and Quarantine divisions of the USDA in Las Vegas.

Roger Holman, port director of APHIS and PPQ, said his agency inspects fruits, vegetables, plants, meat products and some homeopathic medicines coming from abroad to protect the agricultural interests of Nevada's neighboring states.

The agency has two full-time employees, three temporaries and three State of Nevada employees that are qualified to conduct agricultural inspections.

Customs officials inspect other luggage brought into the country, determining the number of inspectors based on a profile of the composition of the passengers aboard. Generally, there are at least two male and two female inspectors per flight in case a passenger needs to be searched.

Agents will make decisions on how many inspectors are needed based on whether most of those aboard are tourists or local residents returning to the United States.

Jack Pansky, Customs director for the Port of Las Vegas, said the amount of money Mexicana would pay for landing rights wouldn't cover the inspectors' expenses.

He said the scheduling of the arrival is the key to the solution. And part of the problem is that Thursdays and Saturdays (or early Fridays and Sundays) are the most popular times to arrive in Las Vegas.

Thursdays and Sundays are the inspectors' busiest days because most twice-a-week travel occurs on those days. Another problem is that McCarran's international terminal can only accommodate three aircraft at one time because three gates are cordoned off for Customs, USDA and INS.

Inspectors get the busiest when Northwest Airlines and Japan Airlines arrive with their Boeing 747 jets. Sometimes, they arrive on the same day and in April, a schedule change brings the arrival time to within a half hour of each other, creating a logjam of more than 700 passengers needing to be checked through.

Dorman said her agency tries to complete inspections within 30 minutes. When the two jumbo jets arrive at nearly the same time, she staffs the INS with all 11 inspectors.