America West planning to hire Vegas-based workers

Monday, Dec. 29, 2003 | 11:40 a.m.

When 1,000 new employees are hired by America West Airlines in the months ahead, many of them will be based in Las Vegas, the airline said.

A spokeswoman for the Tempe, Ariz.-based company said Friday that it hasn't been determined exactly how many new employees would be based at McCarran International Airport, where America West is the second-busiest commercial passenger carrier.

But Janice Monahan said workers in every labor category are being sought by America West, which earlier this year announced expansion plans for 2003 and 2004.

"We have no exact number for how many would be in Las Vegas, but we'll be hiring customer service representatives and ramp employees as well as pilots and flight attendants," Monahan said.

She said about 1,000 America West employees already work at the Las Vegas station, which is the company's second-largest presence behind its Phoenix hub.

Over the years, America West has used McCarran as a hub, capitalizing on Las Vegas' reputation as a 24-hour town with dozens of late-night flights. But more recently, the airline has intensified its day schedule, adding flight frequency and new destinations as the airline expanded and refocused its business model as low-cost carrier.

On Friday, the airline announced that it had reached agreements with lessors to add four aircraft to its fleet in 2004 as part of its previously announced plan to increase capacity with new aircraft and increased use of its existing fleet.

America West signed a lease agreement for an Airbus A320 twin-engine jet from Boullioun Aviation Services Inc., and a letter of intent for three more A320s from International Lease Finance Corp. The lease agreements range from four to seven years and all planes are expected to be in service by June 1.

By early next year, America West will have 107 daily flights to and from 47 cities from Las Vegas, where the company currently serves about a half-million passengers a month.

The most recent Las Vegas expansion, announced by the airline earlier this month, includes daily flights to and from Cleveland; Edmonton, Alberta; Vancouver, British Columbia; and the Texas cities of Austin, El Paso and San Antonio.

All of those new flights begin March 1 and are night operations, with all arrivals and departures occurring between 8 p.m. and 1 a.m.