LV gaining long-haul flight from the East

Tuesday, July 24, 2001 | 11:09 a.m.

Vegas airline numbers

The number of visitors arriving at McCarran International Airport continues to surpass last year's totals with 3.3 million people arriving by plane in June.

McCarran officials said June's total is 3.5 percent higher than the number recorded in June 2000 and the six-month total of 19 million is 5 percent ahead of last year's total after six months.

Dallas-based Southwest Airlines continued to dominate the market with 986,968 passengers, an 11.2 percent increase over June 2000's totals. America West (591,628 passengers) and National (223,542) had increases of 16.2 percent and 36.1 percent, respectively, while United (260,347)and Delta (225,234) had decreases of 4.7 percent and 10.4 percent,respectively.

Southwest Airlines will open a market of 1.6 million residents in southeastern Virginia to Las Vegas next fall with the introduction of nonstop service to and from Norfolk, Va.

The Dallas-based airline unveiled details of its Norfolk service this morning and the announcement that Las Vegas would be among the nonstop destinations was met with shouts of approval from those attending a briefing.

"A cheer went up when it was announced that Las Vegas was on the scope," said Wayne Shank, deputy executive director of the Norfolk Airport Authority.

"A lot of people in this area go up to Atlantic City but probably would go to Las Vegas if it were more accessible," Shank said. "This certainly makes it more accessible."

Southwest announced in May that Norfolk would be its 59th destination, but didn't reveal until today from where it would fly. When the service begins Oct. 7, Southwest will have 12 daily flights, including seven from Baltimore, two from Jacksonville, Fla., two from Orlando, Fla., and one from Las Vegas.

Schedules were not announced, but the airline said it would sell tickets between Norfolk and Las Vegas for $99 one way over the Internet. One-way tickets will cost $186 if purchased seven days in advance and $299 for a walk-up seat.

Southwest's service will be the first nonstop flight from Las Vegas offered to Norfolk International Airport, which serves six cities along Virginia's Atlantic Coast. Shank said the airport serves the cities of Norfolk, Chesapeake, Hampton, Portsmouth, Newport News and Virginia Beach, Virginia's largest city.

Shank said Southwest's service would likely would draw customers from Richmond, Virginia's capital, and the beach areas of northeastern North Carolina. It isn't likely to be a gateway to Washington D.C., since Southwest already serves Baltimore, about 40 miles from the nation's capital.

The Las Vegas service was a surprise for Norfolk and will be the farthest west tourists from that airport can travel nonstop. Shank said US Airways and Delta Air Lines are the market leaders at Norfolk and the farthest west passengers can fly from there now are Chicago, St. Louis, Dallas and Houston.

Southwest also is hoping the Las Vegas-Norfolk route will attract the attention of the U.S. Navy, since one-stop service through Las Vegas will connect the nation's largest naval bases. Norfolk is the home port of Norfolk Naval Station, the largest naval base in the world, while the nation's second largest base is on the West Coast in San Diego, another Southwest destination.

Newport News is home to a major shipbuilding operation and Norfolk is near historic Williamsburg, Virginia's colonial capital and a center of 18th century history.

The Las Vegas-Norfolk flight will be the third-longest flight Southwest will fly from McCarran behind nonstops to Hartford, Conn., and Albany, N.Y.

Southwest uses a fleet of 353 Boeing 737 twin-engine jets. The 700-series 737 has the range to fly nonstop to the East Coast from Las Vegas and the model's introduction in 1997 solidified Southwest's position as the dominant carrier in the Las Vegas market with long-range flights as well as short hops. The airline currently operates about 163 daily flights in Las Vegas.