Airline change to boost Vegas tourism

Thursday, Jan. 25, 2001 | 11:20 a.m.

America West Airlines, the second-busiest air carrier serving McCarran International Airport, is readjusting its schedule to offer more daytime flights for Las Vegas. The move should make Las Vegas a more attractive vacation destination since flights to the city will be more convenient.

The Phoenix-based carrier announced the retiming of eight late-night flights to allow more passengers to arrive in or depart from Las Vegas earlier in the evening or in the morning.

The switch will give America West more daytime flights than night flights. In December, America West served 587,601 passengers in Las Vegas. In all of 2000, it served 5.9 million people here, up 13.5 percent from 1999. The airline has 89 daily Las Vegas flights to 41 destinations.

"This schedule change is the result of growth in customer demand for our day flights to and from Las Vegas," said Mike Smith, senior vice president, marketing and sales. "Customers have more conveniently timed flights to choose from with our new and improved schedule to Las Vegas."

Airline officials could not be reached today to explain how the schedule change, which will occur April 1, would affect the company's nationwide timetable or if the move signifies a shift in the importance of Las Vegas routes to America West.

There was no indication whether America West would increase the number of employees working at its Las Vegas station.

McCarran is one of three America West hub airports, the others being Phoenix and Columbus, Ohio. Traditionally, America West has focused on late-night arrivals and departures for Las Vegas to take advantage of the city's 24-hour activity. The airline was able to operate most of its planes during the day in other cities and keep them flying at night to and from Las Vegas.

Changes in the schedule listed by the airline: