Cheap Flights To Vegas

Once again, the economic situation is causing concern for two of America’s most popular travel destinations. Airlines are planning cuts in the number of cheap flights to Las Vegas and Orlando

"Las Vegas and Orlando, two of the biggest leisure-travel destinations in the country, are both feeling growing twinges of apprehension. And it has nothing to do with an imminent roll of the dice or a plunge on a thrill ride.

Both places are facing alarming reductions in commercial air service as airlines whack away at markets where fares are traditionally cheap. According to OAG, the airline-schedule data company, the number of flights scheduled for this fall is down nearly 13 percent for both Las Vegas and Orlando, versus the same period last year. Additionally, US Airways has said it plans to reduce its Las Vegas service by 20 percent this fall.

Joe Brancatelli, publisher of the subscription travel Web site Joesentme.com and a close observer of the airline business for over two decades, said the tourist businesses in Las Vegas and Orlando were “very, very worried” about disappearing flights and scrambling for solutions.

M. Ponder Harrison, managing director for marketing at the low-fare carrier Allegiant Air, based in Las Vegas, said: “What you’re seeing in Las Vegas and other leisure markets like Orlando is a kind of mild panic setting in, because all of a sudden airline seats are evaporating.” In June, Allegiant reported a jaw-dropping load factor — the number of seats occupied — of 94 percent. Most major carriers had a load factor of about 80 percent in June."

See original story at nytimes.com

Las Vegas is starting to suffer from the downturn in the U.S. economy and record high fuel prices.

From: casinocitytimes.com

LAS VEGAS, Nevada — For more than a decade, Las Vegas has been the envy of the nation in at least one regard: its explosive growth.

Year after year, the region’s economy marched in step with fast-rising gaming revenue. And the population advanced at the same pace. As last year drew to a close, officials announced that Clark County had topped the 2 million mark — 620,000 people had arrived since 2000.

It’s a story Nevadans have grown accustomed to hearing. And its repeated tellings have fed the belief that such growth would never end, that Las Vegas was immune from the economic pressures that affect the rest of the country.

We may need to think again.

In the past week, several signs, read together, show that long-held assumptions about growth in Southern Nevada could be fundamentally changing.

On Wednesday, the region was hit with two negative forecasts.

The airlines serving McCarran International Airport urged the county to hold off on construction of a third terminal because of concerns there would not be enough flights to fill it. County officials rejected the request.

And Clark County School Board officials announced that during the 2007-08 academic year, the district finished with 4,281 fewer students than were enrolled in September. The district is now predicting abnormally low enrollment growth of about 1.5 percent for the 2008-09 academic year.

Also last week, Moody’s Investors Service downgraded its outlook for Nevada’s economy and two of the state’s top gaming companies, Harrah’s Entertainment and Station Casinos. In revising its bond rating for the state, from "stable" to "negative," Moody’s cited "uncertainty" regarding gaming industry revenue, the national economic downturn, record-high fuel costs and weakness in the housing sector.

The firm also notified MGM Mirage and Las Vegas Sands Corp. that their ratings might be lowered.

It’s not just drinking and gambling that people have on their minds on their flights to Vegas.

"At the extreme on Las Vegas flights are the occasional attempts by passengers to engage in frisky business.

Phoenix business traveler Eric Kaldenberg complained to US Airways earlier this year about one couple’s sexual shenanigans, in their first-class seats no less, on a flight he was on from Las Vegas to Phoenix. He said his noise-cancellation headphones didn’t even block the sounds from the row in front of him.

The 38-year-old regional sales manager is a fan of Las Vegas, just not the flights, especially when he’s on a business trip. He steers clear of Friday afternoon and evening flights in either direction.

"It’s definitely a good time, but people need to be responsible, especially when you’re on the plane and in the public like that," he said.

One flight attendant, responding to his recounting of the March incident on a frequent-flier online forum, said, "It doesn’t surprise me that it was on a Las Vegas flight; nothing surprises me on those any more."

Another respondent dubbed flights to Las Vegas a "flying Jerry Springer show.""

More at: azcentral.com