Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2002 | 11:13 a.m.
Travel to Las Vegas Wednesday is expected to be light, but not necessarily because it's the anniversary of last year's terrorist attacks.
The two busiest airlines serving McCarran International Airport say they haven't been expecting big crowds on their planes, partially because of the anniversary, but partially because Wednesdays are normally the lightest flying days of the week. In addition, airlines normally see a post-Labor Day lull in their bookings.
Representatives of Southwest Airlines and America West Airlines, which offer 53 percent of the 63,240 airline seats that come into the Las Vegas market on an average day, won't say how many of their seats will be filled Wednesday.
"We have seen a reduction, but it was kind of what we were expecting," said Whitney Brewer, a spokeswoman for Dallas-based Southwest.
She said the airline is not releasing specific loads by destination, but added that Las Vegas normally is Southwest's second-busiest destination with about 170 daily flights. Brewer said the airline is not cutting any flights Wednesday.
Tempe, Ariz.-based America West, meanwhile, is reducing its schedule by 10 percent Wednesday in response to reduced demand.
Spokeswoman Janice Monahan said systemwide, there was a softening of bookings, something that normally occurs in September.
"September is a shoulder period for us, it's traditionally a slow month," Monahan said. "And Wednesday traditionally is a slow day of the week."
She did not say how many of the canceled flights affect Las Vegas operations or what percentage of seats will be filled on Las Vegas flights Sept. 11.
One airline that may be busy at McCarran on Wednesday is Las Vegas-based National Airlines, which announced last month that it was offering all its coach seats on Sept. 11 flights for $1, with each $1 fare being donated to a charity. First-class seats are being offered at a reduced rate with prices varying based on destination.
Airline spokesman Dik Shimizu said all of the $1 seats into Las Vegas have been sold and nearly all the seats from Las Vegas are gone.
"We were seeing the same lack of demand that the other airlines were seeing on Sept. 11," Shimizu said, "so we decided to do something about, just as we did last October (when people didn't fly after the terrorist attacks) and we kicked off 'Get America Flying.' "
In that program, National offered reduced-rate tickets in October to entice people to fly.
Shimizu said many of those flying National on Wednesday opted to buy quick-turnaround tickets and some passengers will spend the day in Las Vegas.
"You could buy a ticket on a flight that leaves JFK (New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport) and arrive in Las Vegas at 10:15, then get a 4:30 flight that would get back to New York by midnight," Shimizu said. "And, there's also a red-eye flight after that. So a person could spend the day in Las Vegas for $2 plus tax."
Shimizu said National's 15 corporate officers agreed to fly Wednesday and give support to employees. In addition, a number of Las Vegas journalists are flying to various destinations Wednesday -- presumably for stories on passengers who decided to get on a plane on the anniversary of the attacks.
Another airline serving Las Vegas, Mirimar, Fla.-based Spirit Airlines, offered all its Sept. 11 seats for free. Spirit has one daily round trip between Las Vegas and Detroit.
Officials at McCarran aren't expecting anything out of the ordinary on Wednesday.
"We'll have the same state of heightened security that we've had over the past year," said Hilarie Grey, a spokeswoman for the airport.
She said airport officials have been in contact with law enforcement agencies and have not been told of any threats against the airport.
The Forum Shops at Caesars stepped up its security procedures after Sept. 11 last year and has no plans to change that, said Maureen Crampton, marketing director.
Those procedures govern deliveries to the mall and other behind-the-scenes activities that mall patrons are unlikely to notice, she said.
The mall's hours will be normal on Sept. 11, though customers will notice patriotic music wafting through common areas and some signs to mark the occasion, she added.
Sun reporter Liz Benston contributed to this report.
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