Expanded services ease travel at McCarran

McCarran International Airport recently introduced several expansions and services that should greatly improve travelers' upcoming departures through the nation's seventh-busiest airport.

No one enjoys getting caught in long lines at airport security checkpoints. To help prevent such inconveniences, McCarran has opened a new 12-lane C Annex security checkpoint located just outside the south ticketing lobby. The airport now has 44 checkpoint lanes, nearly four times the number it offered just a few years ago.

The new C Annex lanes, which are adjacent to Southwest Airlines' ticketing counter, primarily serve customers flying on Southwest by way of the C Concourse. However, their debut has also benefited customers of nearly every other airline by decreasing congestion at McCarran's A/B, C and D security checkpoints. And who doesn't enjoy spending less time waiting in line?

Las Vegas enjoys its reputation as a vacation wonderland, but nearly one in three local air travelers came through McCarran for business purposes.

To make it easier for these valued business travelers to quickly return home, McCarran, its airline partners and the Transportation Security Administration have jointly added new first- and business-class queuing lines at the airport's A/B, C Annex and D security checkpoints.

Major airports around the nation offer similar dedicated lanes to first- and business-class fliers. Matching or exceeding the level of service to which these customers have grown accustomed elsewhere will enhance Las Vegas' standing among business travelers from around the globe.

Technology is the name of the game these days, so McCarran is also helping those with Web-enabled cell phones or PDAs to move through McCarran much more quickly.

Years ago, travelers stood in line to receive bulky paper tickets that were necessary to board a commercial flight. More recently, the old thick paper tickets were replaced with paper boarding passes printed from a personal computer or at an airport kiosk.

Now the next step in travel has arrived at McCarran -- paperless check-in. Local travelers flying on participating air carriers can now check in for their flights via their Web-enabled cell phone or PDA.

The process is as easy as logging on to the airline's Web site, downloading an itinerary and accompanying bar coded image, and presenting that image to a TSA screener at a security checkpoint. It's safe, convenient and environmentally friendly.

For more information on these news services and other exciting developments at Nevada's largest airport, log on to www.mccarran.com.