Many traveling and tourism specialists came to the conclusion that the problems suffered by the airline industry would have little o no effect on the Las Vegas economy, however, last week, an airline analyst expressed his concern regarding the high fuel prices and its affectation to the industry prosperity. According to him, the airlines are facing a situation similar to the fist months after the 9/11 attacks. The Las Vegas McCarran airport has experienced a decrease in the number of flights coming to the city on daily basis, a number that has fallen 2.2 % over the same period in 2007. The relationship between the airline industry and the Las Vegas Hotels has become essential for both sides, over 46% of the Las Vegas visitors arrive by plane and a diminution on the number of daily flights can have a large impact on an economy it’s aiming to bring more visitors from remote locations and overseas.

By 2008, several airlines including Frontier Airlines, ATA, Aloha and MaxJet have quitted or will suspend their flights in the next six months, Champion Air; a charter carrier also announced to the media that it will probably suspend the service by May, 2008. Also, two well known airlines currently offering flights to Las Vegas, Delta and Northwest, are planning to combine forces and merge, an action that could possibly reduce their passenger capacity in the near future. However, Delta and Northwest have declared to the media that they don’t have intentions to reduce the amount of flights to Las Vegas in the near future.

 “Delta and Northwest are, for now, telling various players what they want to hear, but the reality of some of the merger plans could change” said Aviation consultant Mike Boyd.

As an effect of the airline industry crisis, the Las Vegas hotel rates have scaled up significantly, still, the airlines flying to Las Vegas can’t simply increase their prices due the ultra competitive temperament of the airline industry. Several analyst expect that series of agreements between the airlines and their resort partners, as well as the introduction of a series of Las Vegas discount coupons can momentarily solve the situation. However, this measure could help to push more visitors, but at the end it doesn’t provide any possible solutions to future problems caused by the high fuel prizes.