International travel to LV plunges 40 percent

Monday, Oct. 29, 2001 | 10:53 a.m.

Airline traffic to Las Vegas from Japan and Mexico were the hardest hit by the downturn following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, McCarran International Airport statistics show.

McCarran's September enplanement statistics illustrate how international flights have fared worse than for domestic travel. The number of passengers arriving and departing from Terminal 1, which handles domestic scheduled air carriers, was down 27.7 percent, from 1.9 million in September compared with 2.6 million in September 2000.

But at Terminal 2, which accommodates international and charter travelers, the number of passengers was down 40 percent, from 110,278 passengers in September compared with 183,905 a year earlier.

The dropoff from Japan was so dramatic that Japan Airlines has suspended service between Tokyo and Las Vegas. But Mexico, the city's No. 3 international market behind Canada and Japan, also has dried up as a source of visitors.

"People are scared to fly," said Biridiana Vazquez of Swissport, the company that handles ticketing and ground operations for AeroMexico, which has daily nonstop service between Las Vegas and Hermosillo. "We (AeroMexico) have had to cancel flights (Tuesday and Wednesday) because there haven't been enough passengers."

Aviacsa Airlines, a Mexican carrier with daily flights between Las Vegas and Monterey, is starting to see a comeback, but planes are still only 50 percent to 60 percent full.

"We didn't have flights for four days after the attacks," said Julie Wheelock, station manager for Aviacsa.

Aviacsa saw an increase in passengers since last year, but Wheelock attributed that to an increase in service. In September 2000, the airline had only three flights a week.

While Japanese and Mexican tourism is off, travel from other countries appears to be holding its own.

Passenger volume for Virgin Atlantic Airlines has been up, but the increase was attributable to the airline having more flights this year than last, not just strong loads after the attacks. The company, which initially canceled some U.S. flights immediately after the attacks, hasn't reduced its flights to Las Vegas. While company officials won't disclose their loads for competitive reasons, spokesmen say they are satisfied with bookings.

Canada, the top international market for Las Vegas with an estimated 1.44 million visitors a year, has had a downturn in travel to Las Vegas, but nothing as dramatic as the Japan and Mexico markets.

An Air Canada spokesman in Chicago said after the initial shock of Sept. 11 and a subsequent 20 percent overall cut in service, some route loads are beginning to return to normal.

Spokesman Dick Griffith said the comeback is significant enough that Air Canada decided to go forward with plans to increase Las Vegas service last week.

Griffith said flights between Toronto and Las Vegas will be increased from once a day to nine a week and beginning Thursday, the Toronto-based airline began twice-weekly service between Las Vegas and Vancouver and Calgary. Beginning early next year, Air Canada will add twice-weekly flights linking Las Vegas with Montreal.

While Canada's scheduled airlines haven't lost much ground for Las Vegas visitation, a charter company has canceled some of its Las Vegas packages, citing a lack of demand.

Pat Rachey, director of marketing for Signature Vacations' Winnipeg, Manitoba, office, said bookings to Las Vegas "dropped off to nothing right after Sept. 11."

The company, which sells packages with 14 Las Vegas hotel-casinos, will reconsider tours in December when sub-zero temperatures drive Canadian tourists into planes bound for Mexico, the Caribbean, Cuba and Las Vegas. Rachey said Signature has sold seats on a chartered Canada 3000 airline Boeing 757 that made the trip from Winnipeg to Las Vegas twice a week.

Rachey said some tourists are fearful of traveling to the United States after four planes were hijacked by terrorists last month, but she also suspected some are hoping to take advantage of reduced fares and haven't booked because they expect to see better deals. She said the poor exchange rate of Canadian currency also has discouraged some Canadian travelers.

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