Facebook
Fark
Digg
Reddit
StumbleTransportation:
Southwest trims flights to Las Vegas
Airline plans to have 12 fewer daily round trips into McCarran starting Nov. 7
Sun file photo
Southwest Airlines planes sit at McCarran International Airport.
Wednesday, July 28, 2010 | 11:49 a.m.
Southwest Airlines will offer more than 1,600 fewer seats a day into the Las Vegas market in the winter months following a seasonal schedule change that takes effect in November.
The Dallas-based carrier, the busiest at McCarran International Airport, will have 12 fewer daily round trips into the market beginning Nov. 7. The Las Vegas market took the biggest hit in Southwest’s system as the airline trimmed its schedule by 106 flights to 3,156 a day.
Southwest currently operates 217 flights a day in and out of Las Vegas according to McCarran figures.
The end of two of the 12 flights will mean the loss of two nonstop markets for Las Vegas: Long Island’s MacArthur Airport and Norfolk, Va.
Southwest also is eliminating two daily flights between Las Vegas and Salt Lake City, reducing the total number of flights from seven to five, and three flights to and from Southern California.
One round trip each will be eliminated on flights to and from Albuquerque, N.M. (from six flights a day to five); Baltimore-Washington International Airport (from four to three); Buffalo, N.Y. (from two to one); Denver (from nine to eight); Los Angeles International Airport (from 12 to 11); Omaha, Neb. (from three to two); Ontario, Calif. (from eight to seven); and San Diego (from 12 to 11).
Reno-Tahoe International Airport lost six flights in the schedule change with one round trip each eliminated to and from Boise, Idaho; Los Angeles; Oakland, Calif.; Phoenix; Portland, Ore.; and San Jose, Calif.
Southwest is adding 44 flights in various markets, adding most of its lift to and from Florida destinations.
Discussion: comments so far…
Comments are moderated by Las Vegas Sun editors. Our goal is not to limit the discussion, but rather to elevate it. Comments should be relevant and contain no abusive language. Comments that are off-topic, vulgar, profane or include personal attacks will be removed. Full comments policy. Additionally, we now display comments from trusted commenters by default. Those wishing to become a trusted commenter need to verify their identity or sign in with Facebook Connect to tie their Facebook account to their Las Vegas Sun account. For more on this change, read our story about how it works and why we did it.
Only trusted comments are displayed on this page. Untrusted comments have expired from this story.
No trusted comments have been posted.
Post a comment
Most Popular
- Viewed
- Discussed
- E-mailed
- Two dead after accident in downtown Las Vegas
- Superstar Whitney Houston dies at 48
- Instant Analysis: Debating whether UNLV should continue series with San Diego State
- Police looking for man in white Ford Explorer
- Dining Guide: 2012 Valentine’s Day options in Las Vegas
- Four people injured in car accident
- Color from the scene at Thomas & Mack Center: We have a wire job! Rebels win, and Louie Armstrong sings!
- Blog: Justin Hawkins’ steal seals UNLV’s thrilling 65-63 victory against San Diego State
- After Nevada and Florida wins, Mitt Romney trying to prove he’s ‘severely conservative’ to CPAC base
- UNLV makes key plays down stretch to hold off San Diego State 65-63
Blogs
The Kats Report
Color from scene at Thomas & Mack: We have a wire job! Rebels win, and Louie Armstrong sings!
South Point owner Michael Gaughan's take on 'Vegas Stripped': 'I'll give it an 8' (4 Comments)
Author relishes writing the life story of ‘larger-than-life’ Oscar Goodman (3 Comments)
Elsewhere
Landowner: All roads could lead to Uxbridge casino
Revel reveals smoke-free casino opening
Cirque du Soleil show in Sands China casino to close this month
Meet the woman behind Sheldon Adelson
The Sun
Locally owned and independent for more than 50 years.
This is normal for airlines. They adjust their schedule to meet and increase or decrease in demand. Nothing new. VIVA LAS VEGAS!
Southwest is nothing more than a "flying Greyhound" bus in the sky.
Wait at the airport, get long hauled, hassled by Metro, nickle and dimed with a bunch of junk fees and taxes at the hotel or show...
Stay in California, smoke legal pot, go to the Native Amer Casino....Nevada is washed up...too prudish for the Euro-traveler and too tacky for the hard core Asian gambler.
"this is normal"...when no one is going somewhere the airlines stop flying there!
Mred.
Long hauling doesn't happen like you think. The TA (taxicab authority) needs to justify their job. Worried about long hauling? Grab a shuttle or limo/town car. Metro does not brother tourist unless they're causing a problem, most of the time. (can't say never)
You may not have the money to spend in Vegas like a lot of other people do. Stop trying to be the party crasher. Your embarrasing yourself.
@SWA Greyhound in the sky. That was funny. I laughed for a minuet. That's a good one!
In the 60's, 70's, 80's, 90's and again by the unknowing we hear "Vegas is washed up". It never has been and never will be.
The haters always preach but they disappear when things turn around and come out like rats when times turn down.
Just the same life cycle of the haters. Nothing new.
Bags Fly Free, Bing!!!
Just because a blogger believes that Las Vegas is washed up doesn't mean that writer is a "hater" just means that Las Vegas ain't doing it for them anymore. This city has a long haul to get any resemblance of what it was, taken down by corporate greed, recession, crime, illegal immigration, god awful governing, etc. I'd say Vegas pretty much is in the crapper right now..
This isn't dreadful news, although it does cover a large swath, including several good hubs. Southwest may indeed be the Greyhound in the sky, but they're a LOT more affordable, dependable, and fee-reasonable than any of their equally well-dispersed competition. They certainly raise no qualms whatsoever with my loyalty if they have to cut a few flights (and seasonally, at that!).
I hope Southwest keeps up the proper business model. They cater to those who just want to get in the air reasonably and predictably without superficial frills like assigned seating and "first class" (in airlines of USA, I'm sorry to say that's only a term, and hardly the experience).
Further, Southwest has been so straight-forward with me in various shopping and travel circumstances that I don't even pay attention to cheaper "offers" anymore. I've even allowed my mileage to expire with both United and Delta, something I spent years attempting (with disappointment and aggravation) to prevent. I pretty much expect every other airline to shaft me with hidden/bogus costs and/or leave me up a creek without a paddle nowadays.
Harryweed's fault! Plus they're tightening up the machines. No one is winning any money. Harry has created an undeniably bad impression of Vegas and it's bad Economy!Housing prices are projected to go down another 20% by the end of this year. We can change all of this in November!
The only happy people in Las Vegas are the tourists. You know why?.......Be cause they get to leave this Godawful place!Run by a Hood of a Mayor who supports one of Obama's corrupt cronies.....Harryweed...Clean the yard pleaseeeeeeee!
Come on skooter you can not leave out Jimbo "grope a dope" Gibbons and Ensign "promise keeper in the pants" Ensign!
To be honest to fly from anywhere along the east coast you have to connect most flights to Vegas. The non stops, which are dwindled down to only a few flights from only major cities has really hurt Vegas and it's attraction to the everyday traveler. That was their bread and butter the traveler who wants to visit but finds it more costly and more of a hassle than its worth. We wanted to book a flight from Virginia, our flight was out of DC to Phoenix then to Vegas, 8.5 hours. To fly non stop the cost doubled. Our return flight was Vegas to LA to DC 10 hours. If we chose Baltimore then it was BWI to Atlanta to Vegas and Return Vegas to Dallas to BWI. Then we dont want to talk about the hotel and all the fees and added costs. Again I will continue to say this would you rather have 500,000 regular paying guest who wants to play and enjoy Vegas or 50,000 people who may only stay and not play for 3 days.
pele
People do not want to go to Vegas with Angle on the ballot. She is a turn off. Nevada will become another Alabama with ignorant Sharon Angle.
skooter - I'm really happy here. I love Vegas. I lived in California for 7 years. It sucks ass. Way too much taxes, healthcare costs are way higher, and traffic congestion is to the point of suicidal.
Not to mention Las Vegas is WAY cleaner. When people ask why I moved, I simply tell them its like moving from Mexico (Dirty, ghetto, 3rd world like) to somewhat normal civilization, at a fraction of the cost of living.
What SWA is doing makes sense from the earlier reports on traffic through McCarran. SWA doesn't make money flying jets that aren't packed. With fewer flights you might see ticket prices go up. Until the economy improves we might see more decline in the coming year or so.
Good. Worst airline in the country.
It must suck to hate where you live. I have a great time in this town.
Less flights=less tourists
Less tourists=less hotel/casino revenue
Less revenue=more hotel/casino staff layoffs
Less customer service=less tourists
Less tourists=less flights.
...And on and on it goes.
Can anyone say "Death Spiral"?
(BTW, Cosmopolitan opens in Dec.; Another few thousand rooms to try and fill.)
Think it's bad now?
In January you have the biggest tax increase ever that has ever hit the US consumer.
Thanks Mr President and Harry!!
Its apparent js2323,...you haven't flown Southwest. They are less expensive, get the job done, don't charge for all the crap others do, and the 737's work as well as anything else in the air. You might also note they receive higher customer service ratings than other carriers and actually make money. Not bad for a flying bus
ouch...another brick in the wall
"Tap Out" Vegas
Southwest is doing a great job.
Its is a no thrill airlines but
it gets you from point A to B safe.
Ontime (most of the time) and no hidden charges.
The fleet of 737 are work horses.
People should come to Vegas in the cooler
Mo.The best time of year is at Christmas,the casinos can put up a Christmas Tree better than I could.
supply and demand.
less people want to come to vegas = less flights to vegas.
Southwest looked into their crystal ball, and started planning their routes and schedules for next year. When they got to McCarran, they had the usual choices: increase, cut, or stay the same.
If their economic forecasts for Vegas were fair or good, they would probably choose "stay the same". Cutting flights in/out of McCarran by the major carrier does not bode well for Las Vegas having a rebound in Q1 or Q2 2011.
I've flown all 3 flights from Vegas to Omaha religiously, so I'm curious to see which departure gets the ax. Hopefully it's not the 830am flight I've grown fond of but I'm sure it will be. Typically, there aren't more then 10-15ppl on that flight with me. It's nice to occupy an entire row and have your own space..lol
logic_should rule said ".
Think it's bad now?
In January you have the biggest tax increase ever that has ever hit the US consumer.
Thanks Mr President and Harry!!"
Actualy he should be thanking the Republicans for this sense they WROTE the bill with the sunset caluse. But no they would rather blame the President and reid for what the REPUBLICANS did. Typical Right Wing/Tea Party Nut blaming the wrong people again.
I can't blame Southwest for reducing flights to Las Vegas if they don't expect most of their flights to be full.
It is bad news for the tourist, however. Fewer flights generally will also translate into higher fares, especially for the direct flights and the most convenient indirect ones.
It is probably extremely difficult to accurately calculate how many potential visitors decide not to come to Las Vegas because of the higher air fares and/or inconvenient flight times. My guess is that the number is rather high.
hermit(perfect name for you)-If you climbed out of your socialist cave, you might(but I doubt it) realise that you can't tax your way into prosperity.
Also, Mr hermit, the dems have controlled congress since 2006. A fine job they're doing...
Las Vegas needs to vote out the tax and spenders to get a recovery going.
SW is like a cult, and that's why the customer service ratings are so high because they have customers that never take another airline. For those of us that fly frequently there are some better ones out there. What you'll notice is that SW also has the highest negative ratings of people that have had a bad experience. I know just as many people that never want to fly Southwest again as people that swear allegiance to them.
Bring Back National Airlines!! THE BEST airline to fly to and from Vegas on!
Wow, all of you people are so politic. Take the politics out of it for a minute. SW has been on the right track for years. They add and subtract flights all the time. They get it. They are kind of like the Ford Motor Company, doing it right. Making a profit. All of the naysayers, all of the pundits, can't change the FACTS. Vegas is changing just like our country has changed. It did not start here, it won't end here. This article is about SW not politics!
"hermit(perfect name for you)-If you climbed out of your socialist cave, you might(but I doubt it) realise that you can't tax your way into prosperity.
Also, Mr hermit, the dems have controlled congress since 2006. A fine job they're doing...
Las Vegas needs to vote out the tax and spenders to get a recovery going."
Name one single bill that the Democrats passed in 2007-2009 that hurt the economy that a Republican president signed into law. You show just how stupid RWNs really are. The Dems did not control congress in 2006. It was not until January of 2007 that they had the majority. You say that one can not tax their way to prosperity? Funny but you can not cut taxes on the way to prosperity which has already been proven. That is why the rights hero Reagan passed the largest TAX INCREASE EVER! He had to after finding out his voodoo economic plan did not work.
hermit-You've obviously been a hermit way too long.
logic_should_rule says:
"Think it's bad now?
In January you have the biggest tax increase ever that has ever hit the US consumer.
Thanks Mr President and Harry!!"
But Mr. Logical has nothing to worry about. At his tax bracket, the increase won't amount to more than a nickel or two.
Las Vegas is in a spiral, down, down, down, unless the people running the State get their head out of their -ss.
If you don't like living in the Vegas Valley, my suggestion is you move.
You would be surprised, there are a lot of places that suck big time and Vegas isn't one of them. (I have lived all over the states, except for the Northwest, so I can't comment on that area).
I didn't want to move here (I loved my previous neighborhood), but find that I really like my neighbors here and I like the town, a lot. And yes, I know my neighbors.
I can go see a show, or not. I can eat at lots of nice local restaurants (we don't do the strip, too over priced and service is sketchy at best-if they want to keep the tourist coming, they need to work on that!)
I think my biggest complaint is that fact that most of the movie theaters are in casinos, and I really don't like them (too much noise).
We go camping and see the wonderful sites that are out there. There are a ton of day trips you can do from this town.
People complain about traffic, but I hate to tell this town, traffic is not really a problem, except right on the strip, and that could have been solved if they had done the monorail correctly from the beginning, from the airport to the strip (and I mean putting it down the middle of the strip, but obviously the cabbies had more political clout).
It reminds me of the complainers that moved to Texas in the 70's and 80's that bitched about how they didn't like Texas, and I would ask the why they were there, and they would reply for their jobs. Asked why they left "home" and they would say , because they couldn't find a job at "home". Is that the case in this town, people moved here to get a job, because there weren't any available at "home"? If not, why didn't you stay at "home"?
People if you have a job, you are lucky. If you don't like your job, you need to figure out why and do something to change your situation.
Otherwise, move or quit bitching.