British Airways bets on Vegas

British Airways, one of the most recognizable airlines in the world, is coming to Las Vegas.

Officials for the carrier are scheduled to announce today new direct daily service between McCarran International Airport and London's Heathrow Airport, the busiest international airport in the world.

The service, scheduled to begin in October, has been in the works for years and the decision by British Airways to proceed despite the global recession is a major vote of confidence in the future of Las Vegas, which has been hit particularly hard by the economic downturn.

Through March, Sin City visitation is down 8.7 percent, major resort construction projects on the Strip are stalled and more than 10 percent of the local work force is unemployed.

"We think there is going to be plenty of business out there to come to Las Vegas," British Airways spokesman John Lampl said. "We've got to get people moving again."

The plan is for daily service to begin Oct. 25, with a flight arriving in Las Vegas at 5:10 p.m. The return trip to London will depart at 7 p.m., Lampl said.

The airline will use a Boeing 777 configured with 274 seats, 24 of which will be "world traveler plus," 36 business-class with seats that recline fully to 180 degrees and 214 economy class.

Fares will begin at $461 round trip, plus taxes and fuel surcharges, Lampl said. They should be available for booking by Monday on www.ba.com.

British Airways will be the second United Kingdom carrier with direct, daily service to Las Vegas. Virgin Atlantic already makes the trip. But Virgin flies to the smaller Gatwick Airport, while British Airways is from Heathrow.

The Heathrow connection puts Las Vegas within one stop of cities around the world, making it that much easier for people to travel to Las Vegas.

Lampl said the company identified 35 major cities, including Rome; Prague, Czech Republic; Stockholm, Sweden; and Paris, from which travelers could connect to Las Vegas with less than two hours waiting at Heathrow.

"This opens the door to growth," Lampl said. "You'll have a lot of people who like Las Vegas, who have never been to Las Vegas, who now have an easy connection."

If British Airways flies the route at 72 percent load factor, the average load factor for the airline in the most recent reporting period, it would mean about 12,000 arrivals and departures at McCarran a month.

The number could be higher if British Airways matches the 92 percent load factor Virgin Atlantic achieves on its route from a smaller airport with less connection potential.

Also, international visitors spend more than domestic travelers.

A typical international tourist spends $1,200 per Las Vegas visit and a domestic traveler spends about $700.

Beyond the numbers, an alliance with British Airways puts Las Vegas within closer reach to travelers from around the world. It also gives officials from McCarran and the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority more credibility in their efforts to recruit more high-end, international service.

"That's what makes it such a big deal," said Cathy Tull, senior vice president of marketing for the authority. "The opportunity for us in the European Union market just exploded with this."

Randall Walker, director of McCarran International Airport, said British Airways' decision to launch service with daily flights suggests the company believes it can fill planes.

Typically carriers will test long-haul markets with less frequent service before committing to daily flights.

"Airlines don't come into a market, particularly with daily service, without looking at the data," Walker said. "We can hold our own against any of the top cities in the world."

It took years of discussions and research between British Airways and officials at McCarran and the convention authority to make the flight happen.

Tull said the process takes a long time because launching a new airline route costs a lot of money and carriers need to know the destination airport is a good fit and the destination market is strong.

"You need to convince the route planner the route can make enough money to pay for itself," she said.

Las Vegas will be the 19th American city with British Airways service.

Contact reporter Benjamin Spillman at bspillman@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3861.