JetBlue Airways turns focus to Las Vegas

By Kyle B. Hansen

Friday, Nov. 5, 2010 | 3 a.m.

JetBlue Airways has its eye on Las Vegas for future growth as the airline rebrands its vacation offerings and considers the expansion of McCarran International Airport.

The New York City-based airline is far from the largest at McCarran and competes for the same customers attracted to the airport’s dominant carrier, Southwest, by low fares.

JetBlue officials were in town last week, officially as part of a 10th anniversary tour of the 63 cities the airline serves, but also to meet with local officials to talk about the future.

“I’d like to think that we’ll be a significant tenant in Terminal 3 as it comes on line in 2012,” JetBlue President and CEO Dave Barger said. “People are going to keep heading to Las Vegas. It’s a significant destination, not just for domestic, but international traffic.”

Las Vegas is doing the right thing in building a new terminal despite the poor economy, Barger said in an exclusive interview in the airline’s employee break room shortly after he met with Clark County Aviation Director Randall Walker.

“Most airports are always behind the power curve in terms of infrastructure, so I really applaud what Randy and the team is doing here, it’s important,” he said.

JetBlue came to Las Vegas in 2002, it’s 19th destination after beginning service in 2000. The airline flies between Las Vegas and New York; Boston; Long Beach, Calif.; and Burbank, Calif.

Like other airlines, JetBlue pulled back its Las Vegas schedule during the recession, but less than other companies, it claims. Since 2007, JetBlue has reduced the number of seats in and out of McCarran by 6 percent, while other airlines reduced their available seats 18 percent, it said.

“It’s no secret that the economy impacted Las Vegas really significantly in 2009, probably more so than most parts of the country,” Barger said.

But he also said the airline industry seems to have found the bottom of the recession.

“We’re seeing very good loads and the traffic patterns have been nice,” he said. “It’s been real positive.”

Through the end of September, JetBlue carried 586,703 passengers in and out of McCarran, less than a 1 percent decrease from the same period in 2009.

“It’s nice to see the rebound,” Barger said. “We’re pleased with the level of activity we have right now and we’ll see what plays in 2011.”

In addition to meeting with McCarran officials, Barger and other JetBlue executives had breakfast with representatives from the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority and local resorts.

The airline’s interest in promoting Las Vegas destinations coincides with the rebranding of its vacation packages, which is set to launch early next year.

“The big opportunity for JetBlue getaways is in the vacations market in Las Vegas,” said Grant McCarthy, JetBlue’s director of getaways and ancillary travel.

“You’ll see a lot more from our vacation business in the very near future,” he said. “The more successful we are as a vacation program, the more successful we are as an airline and the more incentive there is for us to bring more capacity in, which is something that everyone wants in Las Vegas.”

The push in vacation business should complement business travelers as well, as the new services will include group options for people coming to Las Vegas for conventions, McCarty said.

“That’s something we want to take a good look at because we know it’s good for JetBlue,” he said. “It’s also good for our partners and the hotels in Las Vegas.”

Barger added that he thinks there is also a market in Las Vegas for locals who want to fly away from the region.

“We want to keep growing Las Vegas,” he said. “It tends to be more of a destination as opposed to a point of origin, but you start talking about a couple of million people in terms of the catchment area in the valley and it’s a pretty significant origin opportunity as well.”

Barger won’t promise more flights to Las Vegas right away, but says if the community will support them, they will come.

“We’ll continue to add service,” he said. “We’re real excited about the future.”