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talking points A lift for international tourism Merger between American Airlines and US Airways could be good for Las Vegas by Richard N. Velotta I CO GU LU ES M T N f you merge one company named American with another named US, you might expect something really big for the United States. But for Las Vegas, the imminent merger between American Airlines and US Airways likely will have more international implications than domestic ones. Aviation experts say Las Vegas isn't likely to lose many flights when the carriers merge because there aren't route overlaps. Everything the airlines do at McCarran International Airport is hub flying — shuttling passengers from Las Vegas to a primary airport where they then transfer them to destination flights. American operates an average 26 flights a day with nonstop routes to and from Dallas-Fort Worth International, Miami International, Chicago's O'Hare International, New York's John F. Kennedy International and Los Angeles 20130422_VI06_F.indd 6 gates at McCarran should be relatively painless but could lead to some big-ticket musical chairs. American uses the D gates, while US Airways uses B. Clark County Aviation Department Director Randall Walker said it's likely that the new American would shift to D. Maurice Gallagher, CEO of Las Vegasbased Allegiant Air, said his airline is considering a move to the B terminal. The company currently operates out of D. Such a move would allow Spirit Airlines, the fastest growing domestic carrier at McCarran, to grow even more. Both Spirit and Allegiant are adding to their fleets. The bottom line: Typically a bad thing for consumers, this merger could be good for Las Vegas. For the past two years, McCarran has been the fastest growing U.S. airport for international arrivals. 'A world within. A state apart' minimizes the state's most important, dynamic characteristics s one of the co-authors of the Brookings-SRI study that led to the state's current economic development plan, I am concerned that Nevada is sending the wrong message to businesses in its new brand: "A world within. A state apart." We can debate the merits of the tag line as a tourist hook, which I see as a forced version of the "Keep Austin Weird" slogan, but as an economic development label, it is a complete disaster. A key finding in my study was that Nevada's global connections — not its remoteness and separateness — are its best assets. Where did I get the idea that our new brand was to be used as a way to pitch business development? I quote Lt. Gov. Brian Krolicki, chairman of the Nevada Tourism Commission, who commented in the Reno Gazette-Journal on April 10 that the brand will "market the 6 US Airways' affiliation with United Airlines, Lufthansa and Singapore Airlines. "We already have British Airways doing extremely well with its service to Heathrow and now Gatwick (in London)," Hylton said. "A stronger (alliance) can only help efforts with international carriers." For the past two years, McCarran has been the fastest growing U.S. airport for international arrivals. "That has caught the attention of airlines around the world, including the large U.S. carriers," Hylton said. "The strong push by the LVCVA in funding air service development efforts and partnering with McCarran is a key element in reaching their long-term goal of 30 percent of visitors coming from international." The relocation of ticket counters and New state slogan fences Nevada in by Robert E. Lang A International. US Airways has an average 18 flights a day to and from Phoenix, Philadelphia, Charlotte, N.C., and Arlington, Va. Damon Hylton, vice president of Seabury APG, the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority's air service consultant, said that when the merger is complete, American will be the second busiest operator at McCarran behind Southwest Airlines, dislodging Delta Air Lines from the spot. Hylton predicts American's domestic agenda will maintain the status quo. But its international alliances could change. He believes American will maintain its airline alliances with British Airways, Air Berlin, Cathay Pacific, Japan Airlines, Malaysia Airlines, Qantas (an Australian operator) and LAN (a major South American carrier). Gone will be state to a variety of audiences including business development, education and tourism." Add to that a television ad that features the 1930s Cole Porter classic "Don't fence me in," and it appears that the state is selling aloneness as an attraction. The whole look of the ads and website seem decidedly old timey. In fact, the new state branding harkens back to 1930s Nevada — the one that appears in the Roosevelt-era Works Progress Administration tourist guide to the state. In 1940, Nevada was dead last of the then 48 states in population with just 110,247 residents. We were less than half the size of the next smallest state, Wyoming, with 250,742 residents. If a good letting-alone is what you sought in 1940, Nevada was your place. By 2012, the date of the last census estimate, Nevada shot up to 2,758,931 people while Wyoming had just more than doubled with 576,412 residents. If remoteness and emptiness are virtues, Wyoming, the Dakotas and Montana have it all over Nevada. Modern Nevada is more than "a world within"; it is a world apart from its prewar past. The state boomed and continues growing due to the connections it builds with the world via air travel, interstates and now the Internet (of which Las Vegas holds the largest single connection point in the United States). In fact, Las Vegas may be the most globally connected metropolitan area of its size in the United States. Consider that its major gaming companies run a worldwide empire that reaches across the Pacific to China and Singapore. Nevada is a state hyper-connected — not apart. Nevada needs to drive this point home every chance it gets. The current branding campaign, while perhaps alluring to some potential tourists, does not advance the state's business case. I vote we start over on the business side. This time, instead of a commercial that begins with exterior scenes, we can focus on the interior buzz of the convention center during the Consumer Electronics Show, or the buzz of the massive servers inside Switch Communications. Connections are our business. Whether its human connections at trade shows or electron connections on the Internet, Nevada is all about the buzz. Robert E. Lang is a professor at the Greenspun College of Urban Affairs and directs Brookings Mountain West and The Lincy Institute at UNLV. Las Vegas may be the most globally connected metropolitan area of its size in the United States. Consider that its major gaming companies run a worldwide empire. | 22 APRIL 2013 | 4/18/13 2:14:00 PM