McCarran numbers continue to climb

Friday, May 27, 2005 | 10:49 a.m.

Despite a drop in numbers from financially struggling United Airlines, the passenger count at McCarran International Airport climbed again in April, beating the comparable month a year ago by 3.8 percent.

United, the No. 3 commercial passenger carrier at McCarran and the second largest in the nation, saw Las Vegas traffic drop by 4.8 percent to 268,309 passengers in April.

The company, which operates as discount carrier Ted and under the United Express commuter banner, is ahead of last years count by 4.8 percent to 1.1 million passengers for the first four months of 2005.

The airline is operating under Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and is feuding with its union labor after canceling pension plans to save cash.

While McCarran traffic grew in April, in part due to strong convention attendance, the year-over-year count for the first four months of 2005 is up a strong 6.1 percent to 14 million passengers.

America West Airlines, the No. 2 carrier in Las Vegas, continued its strong growth trend with 13.5 percent more passengers to 649,325 in April. Market leader Southwest Airlines climbed 1.7 percent to 1.1 million passengers for the month while No. 4 Delta Air Lines was up 9.1 percent to 247,525.

No. 5 American Airlines was flat at 216,628 passengers.

Las Vegas-based Allegiant Air, currently the No. 10 carrier at the airport, saw its passenger traffic grow 60.7 percent during the period to 63,731 passengers.