McCarran flights, sporting events to help market Las Vegas, agency says

The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority could turn its attention to working with desirable international airports as well as airlines to market Las Vegas as a destination.

LVCVA Chief Marketing Officer Cathy Tull said this week that the LVCVA could develop a cooperative support plan with Edmonton International Airport to market Las Vegas as a destination for Canadian discount air carriers Air Canada Rouge, Swoop and Flair Air.

Tull also said the LVCVA is working with Tokyo’s Haneda International Airport in American Airlines’ bid to initiate nonstop air service between Haneda and McCarran International Airport starting next year.

The LVCVA and McCarran are continually working to increase foreign and domestic flights to Las Vegas to increase visitation as well as better serve the local market.

Since July, Spirit Airlines and Frontier Airlines have expanded Las Vegas’ market the most. Spirit added 9,415 weekly seats to the market with flights to and from four new markets. Frontier added 8,460 weekly seats with 15 new markets.

Sun Country Airlines added five new markets (1,848 new seats) while Delta and Alaska each added one new market with 1,020 and 1,064 seats, respectively.

But international flights pack the added benefit of greater spending by passengers because travelers tend to stay longer.

Foreign and domestic carriers are expanding capacity at McCarran this year.

Interjet added three new flights a week for seven total between Las Vegas and Guadalajara, Mexico, on Jan. 8.

Still to come in 2019:

■ One flight a week will become two weekly to and from Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, on Frontier beginning May 1.

■ One flight a week will become four to five weekly to and from Frankfurt, Germany, on Condor Airlines beginning in the summer.

■ Two weekly flights to and from Monterrey, Mexico, on Viva Aerobus beginning June 2.

■ Three weekly flights seasonally to and from Amsterdam, on KLM Royal Dutch Airlines beginning June 6.

■ One seasonal flight a week to and from Tel Aviv, Israel, on El Al Airlines beginning June 14.

■ Two seasonal flights a week to and from Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada, on Swoop Airlines beginning June 27.

■ Three seasonal flights a week to and from Dusseldorf, Germany, on Eurowings Airline beginning July 3.

LVCVA President and CEO Steve Hill also outlined how Las Vegas will capitalize on sports to draw more visitors to Las Vegas, explaining a plan approved in a recommendation by the Southern Nevada Sporting Event Committee in December.

The committee recommendation established a system of support groups to assist the LVCVA in its efforts to attract or develop new special citywide events.

The proposal recommends using LVCVA and Las Vegas Events resources and to add new support groups to plan and organize sports events at various venues in Southern Nevada.

Contact Richard N. Velotta at rvelotta@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3893. Follow @RickVelotta on Twitter.