Airlines face baggage and parking fee changes
The fee structure for airlines using McCarran International Airport will change in a couple of ways that avoid the sensitive issue of airlines' total bill.
The charges assessed for the use of the airport-owned baggage handling system and fees to park planes on the tarmac overnight will be modified to reflect how much each airline uses those services. The amendments, approved Tuesday by the Clark County Board of Commissioners, will not change what the airlines pay overall, Clark County Deputy Director of Aviation Rosemary Vassiliadis said.
Over the span of three years, the amount paid by the airlines to use McCarran facilities has risen 37 percent to $7.54 for each passenger that boarded a plane in the fiscal year ended June 30 . This happened as passenger counts declined and other sources of revenue, including slot machine fees, fell in tandem, increasing the financial burden on the airlines.
"When we do look at the costs of Las Vegas, that is a concern," said Greg Gillis, the property manager at Southwest Airlines who serves as the chairman of the airline and airport affairs committee at McCarran.
During the fourth-quarter earnings call, Allegiant Travel Co. executives highlighted that airport charges at McCarran, its busiest station, had risen 20 percent during 2010 while the airline's other expenses dropped 3 percent.
Airport costs have become a national focus of an industry looking to save pennies wherever possible. In January, American and United airlines sued the city of Chicago over an expansion plan at O'Hare International Airport that would have boosted airline charges.
When the $2.4 billion Terminal 3 at McCarran opens in mid-2012, the cost per passenger will jump again to cover the payment on the bonds that financed it. However, Gillis said the airport and the airlines had agreed on "creative ways" to avoid the sticker shock, such as a stabilization fund to smooth the increase over time.
Last year, the airlines paid the Clark County Department of Aviation, which operates McCarran, $150.4 million, mostly in landing fees and terminal space rentals. This amounted to 42 percent of the airport's revenues. Baggage fees came to less than 5 percent of what the airlines pay, while the overnight parking fees apply only to a small percentage of planes that airlines want to have on hand for early morning departures.
Contact reporter Tim O'Reiley at
toreiley@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5290.
