Analyst: Chicago-LV flights will fill quickly

Tuesday, May 23, 2000 | 10:12 a.m.

An airline analyst says there will be plenty of passengers to fill approximately 1,000 seats a day on anticipated new flights between Las Vegas and Chicago's O'Hare International Airport.

The U.S. Department of Transportation on Monday announced eight slot exemptions between McCarran International Airport and O'Hare, with five going to Las Vegas-based National Airlines and three to America West Airlines, which operates a hub at McCarran.

The slot exemptions will enable National to initiate service to O'Hare and Phoenix-based America West to expand its existing operation.

A slot is defined as a takeoff or landing operation by a plane. Slots are restricted during certain time frames at O'Hare. Because both America West and National received an odd number of slots, it's likely that each of the two carriers will operate at least one takeoff or landing before or after the restricted times, giving National three round-trip flights a day and America West two new round trips.

An O'Hare spokeswoman said slots are restricted between the hours of 6:45 a.m. and 9:15 p.m. Slot restrictions at O'Hare are being phased out over a two-year period.

Mike Boyd, an aviation analyst with the Evergreen, Colo.-based Boyd Group, said the slot exemption announcement by the Department of Transportation is particularly good news for National Airlines, which will now be able to serve the nation's busiest airport. He said he has no doubt National will be able to sell seats between O'Hare and Las Vegas.

"Have you looked around the Strip lately?" Boyd asked. "I rest my case."

Boyd explained that National will have a different target audience than the established carriers, American, United and America West.

"United and American not only don't work to serve the leisure market, they don't care about serving the leisure market," Boyd said. "They work more to attract business fares. National is in the business of carrying people to and from Las Vegas. They should do well with flights to O'Hare."

National has a fleet of 175-passenger Boeing 757 jets. America West's jet fleet includes planes that carry between about 125 and 200 passengers each.

National was at an advantage to pick up slots because the legislation that directed the Department of Transportation also ordered that new entrants to the market get special consideration.

Because flights from McCarran represented about a quarter of all the O'Hare slot exemptions granted by the Department of Transportation, Nevada lawmakers applauded the decision.

"Las Vegas did very well to get eight out of the 30 new slots at Chicago O'Hare," said Sen. Richard Bryan, D-Nev. "Chicago is a major portal and an international gateway, which makes it a very important destination for Las Vegas."

"The additional flights will help Southern Nevada build on its economic base," said Rep. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev. "Lower airfares and more flights can only attract more visitors -- and that's gold in the pockets of the Silver State."

The special consideration for new entrants also is a part of the legislation for another slot-exemption matter to be reviewed by the Department of Transportation next month. And that's the one National Airlines Chief Executive Officer Mike Conway is most interested in learning about.

Twelve slot exemptions -- six round-trip flights -- are expected to be awarded for Washington D.C.'s Reagan National Airport in June. National Airlines has applied for six of the exemptions.

"The stakes are much higher on that one, but it's also a lot more political than the O'Hare slots," Conway said.

The reason the stakes are higher is that the exemptions will, in essense, establish a new market, one that will be monopolized by the winning carrier.

It's more politicized, however, because lawmakers are lining up behind carriers based in their home states. For example, Bryan, a member of the Senate's Aviation subcommittee, is backing National's bid. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., is supporting America West for a Washington-to-Phoenix route. America West also has applied for a Washington-Las Vegas route.

Boyd, the aviation analyst, believes National makes the strongest case for the Reagan National service.

"The mandate is to increase competition," Boyd said. "It should be an easy choice for the Department of Transportation."

Conway said now that it appears that National will be serving O'Hare, the year-old carrier won't abandon existing flights to Chicago's Midway Airport. He said the fares to the two airports may be different. At Midway, Conway said, National competes with low-fare carriers Southwest and American Transair, so fares generally are lower there than at O'Hare where American and United dominate the terminals.

Conway didn't pinpoint when National would begin serving O'Hare. He said he hopes all the details would be in place by the end of the year. The company has made preliminary overtures to secure gates, counter space and offices at O'Hare and now that the slots have been awarded, National will step up those efforts.

National has secured the planes needed to launch service to Newark, N.J., and expand in Philadelphia by summer. The next aircraft acquisition would handle the anticipated O'Hare flights, he said.