United Airlines and US Air shrinking at Las Vegas; American Airlines, Southwest and Delta growing
Las Vegas McCarran International Airport reported a 2.2% increase in passenger numbers in Mar-2011 to 3.56 million, taking the first quarter tally to 9.65 million, up 3.1%. But there are some key changes in the carrier mix at the airport beneath the headline figures.
Southwest Airlines remained the airport's biggest customer, accounting for 38.3% of the total. Southwest's throughput fell 0.2% in Mar-2011 to 1.37 million, but rose 2.4% in 1Q2011 to 3.79 million, according to latest data published by the airport.
Delta, the airport's second biggest carrier, reported a 2.8% lift in traffic last month, while American Airlines rose to fourth place behind US Airways with a 5.8% increase in pax last month at McCarran.
United's numbers continued to fall as it reduces services at the airport. Passenger numbers were down 19.1% in Mar-2011 and 10.9% for the first quarter. United has now slid from third to fifth at McCarran.
The other big movers at McCarran are Alaska, WestJet, JetBlue and Spirit, which have seen 1Q2011 passenger numbers rise 11%, 10.2%, 17.9% and 114%, respectively.
Scheduled airlines passenger traffic growth: Mar-2011 and 1Q2011
| Airline | Mar-11 | % change | 1Q2011 | % change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Southwest Airlines | 1,365,913 | -0.2% | 3,786,468 | 2.4% |
| Delta* | 383,530 | 2.8% | 1,016,350 | 2.7% |
| United Airlines* | 199,944 | -19.1% | 561,277 | -10.9% |
| US Airways* | 213,736 | 2.4% | 603,872 | -4.2% |
| American | 202,027 | 5.8% | 572,603 | 6.7% |
| Allegiant | 193,471 | 3.8% | 482,773 | 5.9% |
| Continental | 181,327 | 4.4% | 461,023 | 1.3% |
| Alaska* | 113,725 | 13.5% | 284,792 | 11.0% |
| WestJet
|
84,157 | 12.4% | 233,377 | 10.2% |
| Frontier | 63,895 | -8.5% | 166,847 | -4.7% |
| JetBlue Airways | 73,484 | 21.7% | 199,609 | 17.9% |
| AirTran | 56,152 | 22.4% | 129,535 | 15.4% |
| Virgin America | 38,235 | -9.0% | 108,834 | 1.1% |
| Spirit Airlines | 44,026 | 154.7% | 100,442 | 114.6% |
| Sun Country | 17,073 | 30.5% | 42,162 | 42.5% |
Passenger numbers in March were slightly below 2009 levels. NB: CAPA now offers on-demand monthly airport traffic graphs for well over 100 of the world's leading airports on its Profile pages.
Las Vegas McCarran International Airport passenger numbers (mill): Jan-2009 to Mar-2011
