Is KLAS a big enough airport to support an airline for a hub? I’m just suprized that no airline actually hubs there at all because of the Vegas attractions! I know Southwest has a huge presence there and America West used to, I don’t know if US Airways is shedding there colors there as much as America West once did. Or is the volume of people that enter and exit that airport increase and decrease because of the different seasons? I wonder if a “brand new” airline can actually start up there and survive?
LAS is a major city for Southwest, as you stated. It is also a true hub for America West.
The Las Vegas area is growing rapidly and not only in the entertainment business. Due to Nevada’s laws being more business friendly, there are lots of companies moving there.
There was one airline a few years ago who attempted to use LAS as its hub. The airline was called Nationa Airlines. This wasn’t a reincarnation of the original National Airlines, although they did buy the rights to the name from the original Pan American estate (or whatever a bankrupt’s business resources are called).
It is Southwest’s number one departure airport with 52 cities served by 224 daily departures. Also Allegiant Air is based there.
Las Vegas was also the hub of the now-defunct Grand Airways and the separate, but equally defunct MGM Grand Air.
MGM Grand Air was started in 1989 by the Las Vegas hotel of the same name. Years later it was sold and is now Champion Air, based in Bloomington, MN.
Champion Air does almost exclusively sports charters (I think). I see their 727’s all over the country. They have 6 aircraft with 56 VIP seats (conversion to 85 seat alternate) and 10 aircraft with 173 coach seats.
I hope you are not implying that MGM Grand Air had a hub at Las Vegas. The airline’s scheduled services operated mainly a LAX/JFK route but did, toward the end, serve LAS. However, to call it a hub at LAS would be stretching a point.
Yep. The Cleveland Cavaliers and the Philadelphia 76ers use 'em, as I noted in the “Sports Charters” discussion (currently right beneath this one in “Notable Activity.”).
Most of CUSA uses Air Death, I mean, Champion Air. I know that S. Miss, Tulsa, Tulane, Memphis, and SMU all do.
Kinda confusing, did you mean LAX/JFK?
Found an interesting website (new to me) for defunct airlines: www.airchive.com
MGM Grand Air info. Just 34 seats in a 727? oooh, swanky!
Sorry about that - LAX/JFK is correct.
I did get to see the MGM DC8 - might nice looking aircraft on the outside.
The ‘airline’ for Champion is Grand Holdings, Inc., callsign “Champion Air” (CCP). All of their flights this morning are B722s flying from cold weather to Mexico. I’d say they have a lot of tour charters also.
My only flights on Champion were a Vegas hotel/flight tour package. The Champion airport agent told me they were based in and operated from Vegas. That’s why I thought LAS was a Champion ‘hub’.