New Airport Needed For Superjumbo Jet
The Airbus A380 already promises to haul more passengers than
any other airliner currently flying -- which means it could also
bring more gamblers to Las Vegas, a fact not lost on city leaders.
They'll have to wait awhile, however, before the A380 brings the
hopeful to the desert city (and then carries the dejected
away).
According to the Las Vegas Business Press, city leaders are
planning to bulk-up the future Ivanpah Airport to handle the
superjumbo-jet. The $4 billion dollar airport -- to be located 30
miles southwest of the city, in one of the few surrounding areas
not yet eaten up by residential construction -- will need
reinforced runways, wider taxiways, and high-capacity gates to
accommodate the 800-plus-passenger airliner.
One problem, however, is that Ivanpah isn't scheduled to open
until 2017 -- just about the time the city's McCarren International
reaches its 53-million-passenger annual capacity.
And as cool as it would be to watch an A380 lift off from the
older airport from your room at the Luxor, the A380 can't operate
from the current airport.
"Its wingspan is so wide that we would have to close down an
adjoining runway for it to take off and land," said airport
spokesperson Elaine Sanchez, adding the superjumbo's 1.2 million
pound takeoff weight is also too heavy for existing runways at
McCarren.
When it opens, Ivanpah is expected to handle over six million
passengers in its first year -- many of them visitors from
overseas. The older airport would then be reconfigured to handle
short-haul flights -- think Southwest -- which already make up over
60 percent of McCarren's current traffic.
By accommodating the A380, said Las Vegas Convention and
Visitors Authority spokesperson Erika Yowell, the city will be able
to present itself as a nonstop-destination from cities such as
London, Rome, and Tokyo.
"The LVCVA and McCarran International Airport are always working
diligently for our long-haul market," said Yowell. "[A380 flights]
greatly enhance our ability to compel international visitors to
come to Las Vegas by creating more hassle-free, non-stop
accessibility."
Nonstop flights to Las Vegas from China -- where the Nevada
Commission on Tourism opened a facility earlier this year -- would
also not be out of the question.
"We created our China marketing program and office from the
ground up, and it took a year to obtain full licensing so that we
could legally promote tourism," said Bruce Bommarito, director of
the Nevada Commission on Tourism. "Chinese visitors tend to spend
more and stay longer than other international visitors, which is
valuable for Nevada's tourism-based economy."