Terminal 3 expected to boost international visits to LV
Terminal 3 expected to boost international visits to LV
Tourism officials want to double the
number of international visitors who travel annually to Las Vegas.
Airport
officials expect the seven state-of-the-art gates at Terminal 3 designated for
international traffic to be at capacity during peak travel periods this
summer.
Copa Airlines, a Panamanian carrier, begins nonstop service between its hub in Panama City and Las Vegas on June 27. The airline, and Las Vegas officials, hope the flights serve as a connection between Las Vegas and cities throughout Latin America and South America.
The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority agreed to contribute between $400,000 and 500,000 over the next 15 to 18 months for a joint marketing campaign with Copa.
Terminal 3, which has its own infrastructure of roadways, boarding gates, baggage claim, check-in counters, baggage ramps and a 6,000-space parking garage, is replacing the outdated Terminal 2 for international travel.
"The more efficient nature of Terminal 3 could lead to more international routes, which were previously limited by the enplaning and deplaning time constraints at Terminal 2," Union Gaming Group principal Bill Lerner told the firm's clients in a research report after touring the new facility earlier this month.
For McCarran's international carriers, Terminal 3 was designed to reduce customs and immigration waiting time by doubling the number of kiosks to 28. The gate design at Terminal 3 will allow for more international fights to deplane per hour.
McCarran added six new international routes from carriers such as WestJet, Volaris and Virgin Atlantic during 2011.
Along with Copa's flights, McCarran will add service from Air Berlin, with nonstop flights between Las Vegas and Dusseldorf, Germany, starting in May that will run through October. In June, Netherlands air carrier ArkeFly will begin nonstop service for the summer months between Las Vegas and Amsterdam.
According to the convention authority's research division, 8 percent to 10 percent of all international travelers to the United States come to Las Vegas.
About 16 percent of Las Vegas' 38.9 million visitors in 2011 were international. Convention Authority Chief Executive Officer Rossi Ralenkotter would like to see that figure grow to 30 percent.
Lerner said Terminal 3 could be the catalyst for any visitation increase. The facility will decrease congestion inside McCarran's main terminal, and will eventually become another ticketing and baggage drop-off location for airlines in Terminal 1 and the D gates.
"We generally came away impressed with the new structure as the terminal was designed with the latest technological advances," Lerner said.
Terminal 3 has self-boarding capabilities at the gates, self-tagging for baggage, which is now used at international airports in Montreal and Amsterdam, as well as interactive displays throughout the building.
Terminal 3 will also house several retail shops and restaurants, and -- this being Las Vegas -- the facility has a large room for slot machines that permits smoking.
In late July 2012, United Airlines, Alaska Airlines, Hawaiian Air, Frontier Airlines, JetBlue, Sun Country Airlines and Virgin Atlantic will move their operations to Terminal 3. Most of the carriers will shift complete operations (including ticketing, gates and baggage services) while a few will only use Terminal 3 for ticketing and baggage, keeping their gates at Terminal 1.
The shift of some major airline carriers to Terminal 3 should reduce the congestion at Terminal 1.
"The decrease in passenger congestion and a more efficiently designed terminal should lead to an overall reduction in travel times for passengers and could encourage more domestic and international routes by carriers," Lerner said.
Ralenkotter, who in March became chairman of the Washington, D.C.-based U.S. Travel Association's board of directors, has made international travel one of the organization's primary goals for improvement over his term that runs through 2014.
The nation's travel transportation infrastructure -- roads, rail lines, airline service and airport facilities -- needs continued attention "so it's easier to move people from Point A to Point B," Ralenkotter said.
Terminal 3's opening is a good start for Las Vegas' contribution to that effort.
Tourism officials want to double the
number of international visitors who travel annually to Las Vegas.
The
June 27 opening of the $2.4 billion Terminal 3 at McCarran International Airport
is expected to help immediately in that endeavor.
McCarran reported total
passenger traffic of 41.5 million in 2011, an increase of 4.3 percent over 2010.
International passengers increased 17 percent during 2011, including a 27
percent gain in the year's last six months.
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Copa Airlines, a Panamanian carrier, begins nonstop service between its hub in Panama City and Las Vegas on June 27. The airline, and Las Vegas officials, hope the flights serve as a connection between Las Vegas and cities throughout Latin America and South America.
The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority agreed to contribute between $400,000 and 500,000 over the next 15 to 18 months for a joint marketing campaign with Copa.
Terminal 3, which has its own infrastructure of roadways, boarding gates, baggage claim, check-in counters, baggage ramps and a 6,000-space parking garage, is replacing the outdated Terminal 2 for international travel.
"The more efficient nature of Terminal 3 could lead to more international routes, which were previously limited by the enplaning and deplaning time constraints at Terminal 2," Union Gaming Group principal Bill Lerner told the firm's clients in a research report after touring the new facility earlier this month.
For McCarran's international carriers, Terminal 3 was designed to reduce customs and immigration waiting time by doubling the number of kiosks to 28. The gate design at Terminal 3 will allow for more international fights to deplane per hour.
McCarran added six new international routes from carriers such as WestJet, Volaris and Virgin Atlantic during 2011.
Along with Copa's flights, McCarran will add service from Air Berlin, with nonstop flights between Las Vegas and Dusseldorf, Germany, starting in May that will run through October. In June, Netherlands air carrier ArkeFly will begin nonstop service for the summer months between Las Vegas and Amsterdam.
According to the convention authority's research division, 8 percent to 10 percent of all international travelers to the United States come to Las Vegas.
About 16 percent of Las Vegas' 38.9 million visitors in 2011 were international. Convention Authority Chief Executive Officer Rossi Ralenkotter would like to see that figure grow to 30 percent.
Lerner said Terminal 3 could be the catalyst for any visitation increase. The facility will decrease congestion inside McCarran's main terminal, and will eventually become another ticketing and baggage drop-off location for airlines in Terminal 1 and the D gates.
"We generally came away impressed with the new structure as the terminal was designed with the latest technological advances," Lerner said.
Terminal 3 has self-boarding capabilities at the gates, self-tagging for baggage, which is now used at international airports in Montreal and Amsterdam, as well as interactive displays throughout the building.
Terminal 3 will also house several retail shops and restaurants, and -- this being Las Vegas -- the facility has a large room for slot machines that permits smoking.
In late July 2012, United Airlines, Alaska Airlines, Hawaiian Air, Frontier Airlines, JetBlue, Sun Country Airlines and Virgin Atlantic will move their operations to Terminal 3. Most of the carriers will shift complete operations (including ticketing, gates and baggage services) while a few will only use Terminal 3 for ticketing and baggage, keeping their gates at Terminal 1.
The shift of some major airline carriers to Terminal 3 should reduce the congestion at Terminal 1.
"The decrease in passenger congestion and a more efficiently designed terminal should lead to an overall reduction in travel times for passengers and could encourage more domestic and international routes by carriers," Lerner said.
Ralenkotter, who in March became chairman of the Washington, D.C.-based U.S. Travel Association's board of directors, has made international travel one of the organization's primary goals for improvement over his term that runs through 2014.
The nation's travel transportation infrastructure -- roads, rail lines, airline service and airport facilities -- needs continued attention "so it's easier to move people from Point A to Point B," Ralenkotter said.
Terminal 3's opening is a good start for Las Vegas' contribution to that effort.
