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Las Vegas McCarran

Published: 08/02/2012 - Filed under: Home » Archive » February 2012 » Destinations » Home » Features »

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Don’t gamble with gusto? Glitter and glitz make you gag? OK – but chances are LAS is still stamped in black and white on a few of those old boarding passes. This Business Traveler reporter has a desk drawer full of them. My most recent sojourn to Las Vegas began like this: “Welcome to Lost Wages, Nevada,” the Southwest flight attendant quipped as we taxied to the terminal.  

But not everybody comes to the desert to drop their paychecks at the tables.  McCarran International is air portal to one of the hottest (literally and figuratively) convention towns on the planet. The place positively crackles with conventioneers. No wonder Business Traveler readers voted Las Vegas the Best Convention/Conference City in the world in the 2011 Best in Business Travel Awards.

Latest figures from the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority show that through November 2011 Las Vegas hosted an astounding 17,756 conventions and meetings. The 4,714,544 folks who attended them found ample places to lay their heads among the city’s 150,678 hotel rooms. And the lion’s share of those attendees got to Vegas via air – this despite the fact that between 2008 and the end of 2010, “we lost almost 20 percent of our seats,” says Mark Suman, McCarran’s Air Service Development Administrator. 

Ravaged by the recession and pummeled by climbing fuel prices, Las Vegas absorbed a body blow when US Airways dismantled its McCarran hub. “Five years ago they had 150 departures per day,” says Suman.  Those were the days of its much-loved bank of late-night flights out of Vegas. Initiated by America West before it merged with US Airways, those night flights were by far the most rational way to bridge the darkened continent. The night bank has vanished now, a star-studded afterthought of another age. US Airways’ departures are down to about 22 per day. Still, the landing lights of inbound jets keep lining up on final approach to the planet’s 22^nd busiest airport. McCarran, like the city it serves, is resilient. 

Evidence? Consider new construction, and the possibility of future connections. A new international terminal is set to open soon, and the airport has its sights set on Tokyo. Traffic is beginning to rebound. Some 500 flights depart from the airport each day. Squadrons of in-bound jetliners still arrive, infusing the city’s hotels with convention-goers, gamers, and gawkers. “We’re still primarily a leisure destination,” says Suman. No dispute there. The figure is close to 80 percent leisure. But a significant slice of folks come to town to mix business with pleasure. The Convention and Visitors Authority says 12 percent of visitors are conventioneers. 

Prime Players

The preeminent player at LAS is Southwest, with a 42 percent share of Las Vegas’ 3,955,802 monthly seats. That’s just one factor in making the airport’s average one-way seat rate $143. Southwest jets you nonstop to Lost Wages from places such as Raleigh/Durham, San Antonio, Birmingham and Buffalo. Seasonally, there’s even nonstop Norfolk service. None of these cities are airline hubs. But Southwest still sees fit to loft their inhabitants to the deep desert without having to change planes. Makes for great there-and-back connectivity. 

That $143 average one-way fare isn’t hurt by the fact that low-fare, low-frequency (as few as a couple of flights per week) Allegiant connects LAS nonstop with 33 smaller cities – towns like McAllen, TX, Fargo, Grand Rapids, Lexington and Des Moines. While Allegiant was purpose-built to fly tourists, conventioneers can save a bundle – depending on their conclave dates – by booking the carrier’s venerable MD-80s and 757s. 

McCarran International is an O&D airport – that’s aviation-speak for origin and destination.  People head here in order to get off planes, not to change planes. There are a decent number of international flights, bolstering its ability to bid for top-line global meetings. Virgin Atlantic flies nonstop to London Gatwick, and British Airways nonstop to London Heathrow. Condor flies nonstop to Frankfurt, although just twice-weekly.  WestJet and Air Canada link LAS with Toronto, Vancouver and Calgary. 

Just now, Las Vegas’ only nonstop Asian destination is Seoul Incheon International. Korean Air makes the 5,982-mile journey three times per week. Suman says Las Vegas is hopeful of landing Tokyo before long. The advent of the fuel-efficient, ultra-long range Boeing 787 makes the route doable.  

If the route materializes (and the betting is that it will), the craft will pull up to McCarran’s new International Terminal 3, a $2.4 billion, 14-gate affair set to debut this June. “It’s like a stand-alone facility,” says the airport’s air service development administrator. “It’s got its own parking garage” – not to mention a new Federal Inspection Services facility with 22 lanes. The current FIS has just 16. Clearly, Las Vegas is expecting more visitors from afar. 

With the advent of Terminal 3 comes a bit of a shift. Half of the airlines operating out of the airport’s D gates will do their ticketing and baggage handling in Terminal 3. That includes Continental, United, American, Frontier and Allegiant.

Easy Come, Easy Go

It’s tough to find an airport anywhere that’s closer to the heart of what’s happening than McCarran.  Although officially listed as seven miles south of downtown, this landing strip is right next door to Vegas’ other Strip. “The airport proper goes to Las Vegas Boulevard,” says Suman. That’s just across the way from Mandalay Bay. “It’s right there.” 

The cab fare to The Strip ranges for $10 to $17, depending on which end you’re headed for.

It’s easy to get to the airport hands free. A company called Bags To Go lets you check your luggage off-site, grab your boarding pass and head to the right of the security checkpoint (average wait time 10 to 12 minutes). This TSA-approved setup is available at places such as the Luxor and The Venetian. 

A little bit of Vegas follows you all the way through security - the muted bings, blips and bleeps of ever-present slot machines reminding to that you’re not in Kansas anymore. A tip from this BT reporter, if you’re going to play the airport slots, the best time of day to do so is early Sunday morning. Really.

Already lost your wages and looking to get some business done? Aside from airport clubs, there are no on-airport business centers. Making up somewhat for their absence are charging stations and laptop tables lining the concourses. 

As for eats, they’re everywhere – especially on the D Concourse. California Pizza Kitchen is one of the most popular places to grab a slice and a salad. On the C Concourse, lots of folks frequent Jose Cuervo Tequileria for Mexican food and a margarita.  

If you want a glimpse of the area’s aviation history, take a trip up to Level 2 of the Esplanade, just above baggage claim. That’s where you’ll find the Howard W. Cannon Aviation Museum. Bonanza, National, and America West are immortalized here – carriers from the past which once ferried flyers on flights of fortune and fancy.

Your next Las Vegas meeting might be lots closer than you think. Don’t fight it. Great airfares and low hotel rates render the trip relatively easy on your T&E allowance. World-class accommodations and restaurants (we’re not talking all-night, all-you-can-eat buffets here) make the journey anything but a hardship tour. 

Tune out the ding!, ding!, ding! of the slots and get down to business in this deep desert retreat. It’s an odds-on favorite. 

Jerome Greer Chandler

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