Tuesday, July 22, 2003 | 11:14 a.m.
There was a new flight to Orlando, Fla., on McCarran International Airport's computerized departure screens Monday night.
But it wasn't a flight on Delta Air Lines, as McCarran mistakenly posted it.
A reasonable error: The flight was the Las Vegas debut of Song Airways, Delta's new low-fare subsidiary.
But airline officials were quick to point out the numerous differences between Delta and Song and how the two will co-exist in Las Vegas and elsewhere.
"Song was funded by optimists and built by believers," Song President John Selvaggio said Monday in response to critics who say the time isn't right for a start-up air carrier.
Several airlines are on the brink of financial disaster, piling up record losses. United Airlines is operating under Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and American Airlines recently announced plans to cut 210 flights from its St. Louis hub in a cost-cutting measure.
Selvaggio took a swipe at United and its plans to offer a low-fare subsidiary that company officials have hinted would have a large role in Las Vegas in remarks he made at a welcoming ceremony.
"They (United) have been talking about starting another airline for years and it probably will be another few years before they get it off the ground," he said.
But Selvaggio said Song will succeed because it is focusing on a specific travel niche and will use innovative marketing amenities to win customers.
So far, the formula seems to be working. Song, which launched its operation April 15, has been flying about 80 percent of capacity -- high by industry standards.
There were 150 passengers on the 199-passenger twin-engine Boeing 757 jet on the inaugural flight from Orlando to Las Vegas and 120 on the turnaround flight to Orlando that left at 11:45 p.m. -- a good showing for a midweek red-eye flight that hasn't been widely advertised.
Randy Hagblom, station manager for Delta at McCarran, said the loads are picking up gradually for Song through this week and the Friday flight from Orlando to Las Vegas is oversold.
Song launched its Las Vegas service with an Orlando route and will add round trips to and from Fort Lauderdale, Fla., in August, and Boston and New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport in October. Selvaggio wouldn't say if future Song expansion would include more Las Vegas flights.
"We're not going to allow our competitors to get a jump on us, but I think if you look at the cities we operate in, you could come to some conclusions about what we could do next," Selvaggio said.
Other cities currently on the Song route map are Newark, N.J., a hub city for Continental Airlines; Hartford, Conn., currently unserved with nonstop Las Vegas flights, but on Southwest Airlines' September expansion list; Atlanta, a hub city well-served by Delta; Washington's Dulles International Airport, served by United and America West; and Tampa, served nonstop by America West and Southwest.
Selvaggio said by October, Song's fleet of 36 757 jets, all configured for coach seating, will have seat-back entertainment systems that include access to 24 channels of satellite television programming, digitally streamed MP3 audio programming, pay-per-view video on demand, with touch-screen technology and credit card swipe capability.
He said premium-branded food would be sold on flights -- Pizzeria Uno pizzas, Cinnabon cofee cakes, Lender's bagels and Yoplait and Stonyfield Farms yogurts.
But Selvaggio said the biggest appeal will be in price point, where fares will range from $158 to $598 round trip, with tiers ranging from 14-day advance purchases on the low end to walk-up fares on the high side, and no Saturday-night-stay requirements.
"We've really designed Song to be an airline that appeals to women," Selvaggio said. "We've made the colors and the all-leather interiors appeal to women because we know that 75 percent of leisure-travel decisions and 90 percent of all family travel decisions are made by women."
Does that mean Delta will embark on a strategy to make itself the male-dominated business travel option and Song the leisure component geared for women?
"No, we still look at Delta as the option for reaching the company's mainline, for business and leisure travel and for international flights," Selvaggio said.
Hagblom said Delta's 360 Las Vegas employees would service both Delta and Song and that Song's emergence on the Las Vegas market would not result in a reduction of Delta flights.
By number of passengers served in 2003, Delta is the No. 4 carrier at McCarran, with 21 round trips a day to and from the Delta hubs of Atlanta, Dallas, Cincinnati and Salt Lake City. Through June, Delta has carried 1.25 million passengers on flights to and from Las Vegas, a 2.2 percent increase from the number carried last year.
archive
