LOOKING IN ON: TOURISM

Sunday, Aug. 5, 2007 | 1:13 a.m.

Frequent-flier programs, those plans that drive us to be loyal to one airline or another, are staples of the industry that pretty much work the same way: Fly with us regularly and we'll give you a free trip someday.

But a new entrant in the industry, coming to Las Vegas in October, will offer a reward that's out of this world.

Virgin America, which flies for the first time Wednesday and will start non stop service with three flights a day between McCarran International Airport and San Francisco on Oct. 10, will have a frequent-flier program that will offer something novel - space travel.

The program, called "eleVAte," promises "concerts, parties, special events, dream trips and space travel (no, we're not exaggerating)."

That's a reference to the efforts of Sir Richard Branson, the top executive of Virgin America's parent company, Virgin Atlantic Airlines. Branson is one of the pioneers in space tourism and hopes to send tourists on suborbital space trips by 2009.

Virgin America will offer introductory fares of $44 one way to San Francisco from Las Vegas ($149 in the first-class cabin). The airline will offer five points for every dollar spent on a ticket.

No word yet on how many points it will take to get a free space ride.

The 16 taxi companies that provide service in Clark County are expanding their fleets after the Nevada Taxicab Authority's annual review of how many cabs each company should have.

As usual, it was a contentious process. Cab companies argue that they need more vehicles to keep up with customer demand and the unions counter that more cabs cut into a driver's take-home pay because there are more people taking a slice of the pie.

Cab company owners wanted 12 new vehicles per company, arguing that demand would increase with new hotel rooms. Drivers said there's no need for new cabs because the closure of the Sahara and Frontier properties has decreased the city's room inventory.

After hearing five hours of testimony, the Taxicab Authority voted to allow two new cabs per company in August and one each September through December. That's 96 new cabs on the city's streets by the end of the year.

Another thorny issue comes before the five-member board later this month when it considers a rate increase. Local cab rates already are among the highest in the country at $2.20 a mile plus the $3.20 initial charge for hiring the cab.

For less than half the cost of going one mile in a local taxi you can go all the way to Los Angeles in a bus.

That's the offer from megabus.com, a new daily express bus service being started next week by Coach USA.

Only a handful of the 56 seats on each bus will sell for $1, plus a 50-cent booking fee. The rest will be sold on a sliding price scale going up to $34.50.

Megabus.com was an idea imported by the United Kingdom-based Stagecoach Group, which owns Coach USA. The concept succeeded in the Midwest, so try three trips a day in both directions between Los Angeles' Union Station and the Gray Line Customer Service Center at East Tropicana Avenue and South Swenson Street.

The trip takes close to five hours, including a 20-minute rest stop in Barstow, Calif.

More than two busloads were sold the first day the Web site went live before any advertising or promotion.