Las Vegas Air Traffic
America West Gambles On More Flights To Las Vegas
By Harry SaltzgaverExecutive Editor
The next phase of increasing commercial air flights out of Long Beach is on the horizon, with America West announcing plans to begin service to Las Vegas in April.
America West currently flies four times a day between Long Beach and Phoenix. All of those flights are part of America West’s share of the 41 commercial jet slots currently allowed at the airport.
To add the extra service, America West will apply for three of the 25 available commuter jet slots, according to spokesman Philip Gee. Those slots will allow America West to add a flight to Phoenix as well as two flights to Las Vegas.
“What we will do is reshuffle our slot allocations,” Gee said. “We’ll fly three commuter jets to Phoenix, freeing up two commercial jets for the Las Vegas service.”
Under the city’s noise ordinance, a commuter jet is defined as an airplane that weighs less than 75,000 pounds. America West and its subsidiary, Mesa Airlines, have a number of 50-passenger Canadair Regional Jet CRJ200 jets that are certified in that category. Other airlines also have certified the CRJ900 as less than 75,000 pounds, although America West has not done so in Long Beach. That 86-passenger jet currently is used on some of the Phoenix-Long Beach flights.
The airline has not filed a formal request for the commuter slots, according to Long Beach airport spokesperson Sharon Diggs-Jackson. That process would have to start soon in order to meet the April 29 start date America West has announced.
The announcement comes as the City Council debates how much — or whether to — improve the terminal at Long Beach Airport. The council is scheduled to vote Feb. 8 on a scope for an Environmental Impact Report to be done before any permanent improvements can be done.
The terminal has been packed since the arrival of JetBlue Airways, which now offers 22 flights a day out of Long Beach to New York City, Washington D.C., Boston, Fort Lauderdale, Salt Lake City, Oakland and Las Vegas. American Airlines also flies out of Long Beach to Dallas, and Alaska Airlines flies from Long Beach to Seattle.
Two temporary passenger hold rooms have been added to the terminal as well as a second baggage handling facility. America West passengers share one of those hold rooms with American passengers.
Diggs-Jackson said that, because America West already has ticketing and ground crew facilities, the airport likely would accommodate the new flights with the current facilities. The biggest difficulty may be airplanes stacking up on the airport apron, where there are only 10 “parking spaces” available.
Airlines seeking the use of the commuter slots has been one of the issues used by airport officials to justify the size of potential terminal improvements. It also is a stated concern of anti-airport groups.
JetBlue has no plans to seek commuter slots, according to Kristy Ardizzone, the airline’s West Coast development manager. None of JetBlue’s jets would fit into that category, she said.
JetBlue currently offers two flights a day to Las Vegas, with fares ranging from $39 to $119 each way. America West’s first flights to Las Vegas are being offered for $121 round trip.

- posted by Michael P. Whelan @ 1:33 PM