Traffic at McCarran airport rises 3 percent in 2007

LAS VEGAS " McCarran International Airport set another record in 2007 by hosting 47.7 million travelers, a 3.1 percent increase from 2006.

The combined number of arrivals and departures from McCarran was an increase from 46.2 million in 2006, the previous annual traffic record.

But the surge stalled in December when traffic dropped 3.2 percent, which also coincided with the slowest holiday season spending rates in about five years.

US Airways " the second-largest carrier at McCarran " led the stall with a near 26 percent decline in the final month of 2007.

The Tempe, Ariz.,-based airline also posted a fourth-quarter revenue decline last month, and its chief executive expects the airline will cut seat capacity nationally as much as 2 percent in 2008. That would be on top of the 4 percent capacity it already cut in recent months.

Southwest Airlines, the biggest McCarran hauler, managed a less than 1 percent increase for the month.

The airline decreased the number of flights to and from Las Vegas by 11 per day, a 2.5 percent reduction that totaled 76 fewer flights per week.

Airline industry analyst Robert Mann, president of R.W. Mann & Co. in Port Washington, N.Y., said a downturn in domestic leisure traffic is expected considering the circumstances.

"They (leisure travelers) are the least profitable or absolutely unprofitable when fuel prices rise," Mann said. "When you have corporate customers, you can generally pass on price increases."

Allegiant Air managed to increase its traffic to and from Las Vegas by nearly 26 percent for the year and 28 percent in December.

Ponder Harrison, Allegiant's managing director of marketing and sales, said the airline succeeded in part by tapping customers in the Midwest who weren't hurt as badly in the housing meltdown.

"A number of the farmers in the Heartland are doing just fine," Harrison said. "They have money to spend and Vegas is the No. 1 destination of their choice."

Traffic at McCarran's international terminal jumped 14.5 percent for the year and 12.5 percent in the final month. Flights from countries enjoying strong currencies compared to the U.S. dollar were on the uptick in 2007.

Canadian low-fare carrier Westjet increased passenger traffic at McCarran nearly 85 percent for the year to almost 370,000. Virgin Atlantic traffic increased 10 percent for the year to more than 289,000 passengers.

"A cheap dollar means lots of offshore sales opportunities," Mann said.

"""

Information from: Las Vegas Review-Journal, http://www.lvrj.com