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Passengers to face $10 surcharge on busiest travel days
Saturday, Oct. 10, 2009 | 2:05 a.m.
Sun Coverage
A new charge implemented by struggling airlines could bring a little bad news for Las Vegas tourism, but an airport official say it’s too early to tell.
Several big airlines have added a $10 surcharge for busy days around the holidays, making days that already are expensive to fly a little more costly.
The surcharge will be an additional cost for travelers planning to visit Las Vegas over the holidays. Las Vegas residents could also be hit with the cost when leaving McCarran International Airport.
Last month, airlines added a $10 each-way surcharge for Nov. 29 (the Sunday after Thanksgiving) and Jan. 2 and 3.
Now, FareCompare.com CEO Rick Seaney notes that the same airlines have added 10 more days: Nov. 30; Dec. 19, 26, and 27; March 14, 20, 21, 28; April 11; and May 28.
He said the surcharges were added by Delta Air Lines, Northwest Airlines, American Airlines, United Airlines, Continental Airlines and US Airways.
Las Vegas has reason to hold out hope that the effect will be minimal.
Seaney said holiday fares are still running 15 to 20 percent lower than last year, with prices to bigger cities carrying the biggest discount from a year ago.
And discounters such as Southwest and JetBlue appear to be avoiding the surcharges, he said.
McCarran spokesman Chris Jones said it’s too early to know what effect the surcharge will have on travel at the airport. The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority doesn’t release its holiday travel predictions until later in the year.
Southwest is the busiest air carrier at McCarran International Airport, carrying more than 1.3 million of the nearly 3.5 million people who flew through the airport in August.
Traffic at McCarran, the seventh-busiest airport in the nation, has declined in recent months as the economic slump has hit.
The number of passengers through McCarran in August, the most recent month for which numbers have been reported, was down 9.8 percent compared to a year earlier.
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dumb and dumber airlines inc.
If they do this, they will also come up with the surchage before every upcoming weekend. That would be something. I thought it's "smart" to escape early on a crazy Friday to avoid the highway hotel rates and the crazy traffiv everywhere. Now they're thinking of silly ideas such as this to keep the people there till Monday. Next thing will be that gas station raise the price on the gallon by 5 cents on the weekend (weekend surcharge).
Everybody's tighteting up and trying to squeeze out more money. They don't realize that it will back fire. Less and less people will take the hassle at the airports and instead go gambling in their neighborhood or go on vacation elsewhere!!!
if anybody should pay more taxes, than it's the casinos. 7.5 per cent is world wide the lowest I have ever heard of. And that's a clear indicator about the flaws in the system. Let billionlaires like Adelson or Wynn pay a bit more, they can handle it with ease.
Greetings from Switzerland
Why not just roll the $10 into the ticket price and not even say it is a fee or surcharge. Kinda like all the other charges.
Just charge for the ticket what it costs to travel with 2 bags, sit in a decent seat and eat a bit of food and use the bathroom on the plane.
THEN instead when people go online, offer a"discounts" tab after they choose their ticket and spin it all as discounts.... as in $10 off if you forgo food, $10 off if you only have one bag, $10 off if you choose a center seat,etc. And each time they choose to forgo something, their ticket gets cheaper. Makes you feel like your saving instead of being fee'd to death.
It is all how you sell it. Give a full price full service ticket and then let people discount it rather than giving a cheapa** ticket price then giving tons of surcharge options and fees.