McCarran visitor count sinks nearly 10 percent in August

Passenger counts at McCarran International Airport fell almost 10 percent in August, according to figures released Monday by the Clark County Department of Aviation.

Through August, almost 27.3 million arriving and departing passengers came through the airport, an 11.3 percent decline from 30.7 million passengers for the first eight months of 2008. In August, almost 3.5 million travelers used McCarran, down from nearly 3.9 million a year ago.

McCarran has seen just one monthly increase in passenger counts since October 2007.

The recession has been the primary cause for reduced airline travel, but air carriers began cutting back on the number of flights into various places because of rising fuel costs. Most of the reductions experienced at McCarran began in September 2008.

Janney Montgomery Scott gaming analyst Brian McGill has been critical of reduced number of flights coming into Las Vegas, writing in two separate research reports that McCarran may not have enough incoming seats to serve the influx of new hotel rooms coming on line later this year and in 2010.

"Without an increase in airline capacity, we believe this will pressure (hotel) occupancy levels," McGill said.

McCarran spokesman Chris Jones said history has shown that airlines will add flights if the demand materializes.

Despite the overall drop, two of the top five airlines serving McCarran showed an increase in passengers flying in and out of Las Vegas during August. Delta Airlines, McCarran's fourth-busiest carrier, reported a 2.6 percent increase in the month, while No. 5 American had a 3.7 percent increase.

However, Southwest Airlines, McCarran' busiest carrier, said it flew 1.34 million passengers in and out of McCarran in August, a 2.8 percent decrease from August 2008. For the first eight months of 2009, Southwest has flown 4.1 percent fewer passengers in and out of McCarran compared to 2008.

The number of passengers carried by U.S. Airways, McCarran's No. 2 carrier, is down 34.6 percent for the year, primarily due to the airline reducing its flights to and from Las Vegas.

Contact reporter Howard Stutz at hstutz@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3871.