Many traveling and tourism specialists
came to the conclusion that the problems suffered by the airline industry would
have little o no effect on the Las
Vegas economy, however, last week, an airline analyst expressed
his concern regarding the high fuel prices and its affectation to the industry prosperity.
According to him, the airlines are facing a situation similar to the fist
months after the 9/11 attacks. The Las Vegas McCarran airport has experienced a decrease in the number of flights coming to the city on daily basis, a number that
has fallen 2.2 % over the same period in 2007. The relationship between the
airline industry and the Las Vegas Hotels has become essential for both sides, over
46% of the Las Vegas visitors arrive by plane and a diminution on the number of
daily flights can have a large impact on an economy it’s aiming to bring more visitors
from remote locations and overseas.
By 2008, several airlines including
Frontier Airlines, ATA, Aloha and MaxJet have quitted or will suspend their
flights in the next six months, Champion Air; a charter carrier also announced
to the media that it will probably suspend the service by May, 2008. Also, two well
known airlines currently offering flights to Las Vegas, Delta and Northwest, are planning to
combine forces and merge, an action that could possibly reduce their passenger
capacity in the near future. However, Delta and Northwest have declared to the
media that they don’t have intentions to reduce the amount of flights to Las Vegas in the near
future.
“Delta and Northwest are, for now, telling
various players what they want to hear, but the reality of some of the merger
plans could change” said Aviation consultant Mike Boyd.
As an effect of the airline
industry crisis, the Las Vegas hotel rates have scaled
up significantly, still, the airlines flying to Las Vegas can’t simply increase their prices due
the ultra competitive temperament of the airline industry. Several analyst expect
that series of agreements between the airlines and their resort partners, as well as the introduction of a series of Las Vegas discount coupons can momentarily
solve the situation. However, this measure could help to push more visitors, but
at the end it doesn’t provide any possible solutions to future problems caused
by the high fuel prizes.
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