Blizzard slugs East Coast

An East Coast blizzard that has forced nearly 7,000 flight cancellations will leave many travelers stranded through the end of the week.

The storm, however, has had a minimal impact on flights at McCarran International Airport and on local hotel reservations.

Of the 1,000 daily flights at McCarran, only six -- five arrivals and one departure -- were canceled Monday because of the severe weather on the East Coast, according to airport flight information.

Hotels also were unaffected by the storm, with company executives stressing that their properties are close to being sold out for New Year's weekend.

Alan Feldman, senior vice president of public affairs with MGM Resorts International, said the storm did cause problems for a few guests whose flights were canceled this weekend.

"We had several guests who had to extend their stay for an extra night," said Feldman, adding there was enough room capacity to handle the situation.

"Any guest who is delayed is usually offset by people planning to come to Las Vegas being delayed for 24 hours, so we are able to adjust to the situation," he said.

Runways reopened Monday evening at several major airports in the Northeast. But canceled flights into and out of Philadelphia, New York and Boston left hundreds of thousands of people scrambling for a way home. The storm and its aftermath could end up costing the airlines $100 million, one analyst predicted.

The challenge for the airlines goes beyond weather. Flights are usually full this time of year, making it difficult to rebook travelers affected by a cancellation. Seats are even more scarce than in past years because the airline industry has reduced the number of flights and grounded planes to save money and drive up prices.

"This is a bad time for a blizzard to hit the East Coast," said airline consultant Darryl Jenkins. He said it will be difficult for the airlines to accommodate all the stranded travelers in the New York area quickly enough, and some may abandon their travel plans.

Lori Nelson, director of corporate communications with Station Casinos Inc., doesn't expect anyone traveling to Las Vegas for New Year's Eve to be affected by the East Coast storm, because "most people will travel later in the week."

"We have not been impacted by the snowstorm on the East Coast yet," she said. "Our holiday business is mainly from the West Coast, specifically California."

Neither Feldman nor Nelson would discuss pre-holiday occupancy rates. But Station Casinos expects occupancy rates to begin the New Year's weekend at 96 percent before reaching 100 percent, while MGM Resorts was preparing for 100 percent occupancy at its 14 Strip properties.

"Things are looking really good for New Year's weekend," said George Maloof Jr., co-owner of the Palms Casino Resort.

The hotel expects to be sold out for the holiday weekend.

"Our occupancy rate and short-term cancellations have been largely unaffected by the storm," said Ruben Sigala, vice president of revenue management and business strategy for Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino. "If guests coming from the East Coast cancel at the last minute, demand is strong enough to backfill those rooms."

According to the Las Vegas Convention and Visitor Authority, visitor numbers are expected to be up slightly this year while non-gaming revenue from New Year's Eve is expected to come in at about $177 million.

"Visitors for New Year's Eve are expected to be 320,000, an increase from last year's figure of 309,000," said Alicia Malone, manager leisure public relations with LVCVA.

"We attributed the increase in visitors primarily to the three-day New Year's holiday weekend, which is very convenient for travelers," Malone said. "We have also seen a gradual improvement in the economy. That gradual improvement has also led to higher visitor rates this year."

She expected an overall occupancy rate of 98 percent for New Year's Eve, even with a 3.6 percent increase in room inventory to 148,935 hotel rooms in Las Vegas.

The storm back East did cause some problems for people to rent cars in Las Vegas.

"Some customers in Las Vegas have extended their rentals for a few extra days because of the snow on the East Coast," Laura Bryant, a spokeswoman for Enterprise Holdings, said in an e-mail. "On the other hand, many flights to Las Vegas have been canceled, so that has offset some of the holiday-related increase in rental. All in all, we are able to meet car rental demand in Las Vegas."

The Northeast storm comes a week after several inches of snow shut down London's Heathrow Airport and left travelers sleeping on terminal floors. It took five days for Europe's busiest hub airport to resume normal operations.

By afternoon, major U.S. airlines had announced more than 3,100 canceled flights for Monday. Continental, whose hub in Newark, N.J., was shut down by the storm, scrubbed 800 flights, and Delta dropped 1,000. US Airways canceled about 830 flights.

That came on top of at least 3,800 cancellations Sunday, according to figures the airlines provided to The Associated Press.

Once the snow is removed and the runways are open, the big job for the airlines will be helping crowds of stranded passengers find room on a limited number of flights. Many had decamped in the terminals because they couldn't find or get to hotel rooms.

In the best of times, it might take airlines two or three days to accommodate all those travelers on later flights. But this week could prove much more challenging. Planes were expected to be about 90 percent full during the week between Christmas and New Year's, leaving fewer available seats than usual.

Before the storm hit Sunday, airlines moved their jets out of its path so they wouldn't be snowbound. Now they have to get their aircraft back into the affected areas.

American Airlines spokesman Ed Martelle said that if the weather cleared by today, his airline could resume a normal schedule by Wednesday. He declined to say how long stuck passengers might wait for an empty seat.

Boston's Logan Airport spokesman Phil Orlandella said airlines were saying that rebooking could drag into Friday -- the start of another holiday weekend.

Nearly 2 feet of snow fell in New York City and winds blew at nearly 60 mph overnight at John F. Kennedy International Airport.

Kennedy Airport and Newark International reopened Monday evening, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.

Las Vegas Review-Journal business reporter Chris Sieroty contributed to this story.