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LOAN FOR HIGH-SPEED RAIL LINE GETS ENDORSEMENT IN BUSINESS TRANSPORTATION By Richard N. Velotta senior staff writer T he Los Angeles Metropolitan Transportation Au- thority is endorsing XPressWest's $5.5 billion loan ap- plication to build a high-speed train between Las Ve- gas and Victorville, Calif., a key piece in the bid to link Southern Nevada with Los Angeles. Los Angeles County Supervisor Michael Antonovich, recently appointed to head the MTA board, drafted the resolution that won unanimous approval from the board that oversees Metrolink commuter trains in Southern California. The MTA board and XPressWest — formerly known as DesertXpress — announced in June that they had reached agreement to share resources to develop a seamless train operation between Las Vegas and Los Angeles using Metrolink tracks between Palmdale, Ca- lif., and Los Angeles. Part of the agreement includes working to link Vic- torville, the southern end point of the XPressWest line, with Palmdale. XPressWest has applied for a Federal Railroad Administration loan through its Railroad Rehabilitation and Improvement Financing program. "As part of our effort to develop a regional trans- portation system, the potential to link XpressWest to Palmdale and the entire Metrolink system creates enhanced opportunities for expanded mobility in Los Angeles County and throughout Southern California," Antonovich said in a release announcing passage of the resolution. THE ECONOMY CONVENTION CONTRACTOR SEES RISE IN PROFITS growth has been a key to GES' expansion. The By Richard N. Velotta senior staff writer O ne of Southern Nevada's top convention con- tractors overachieved in the second quarter, driv- ing higher earnings for Phoenix-based Viad Corp. Global Experience Specialists, the Las Vegas- based Marketing and Events Group subsidiary of Viad, helped drive a 15.5 percent increase in oper- ating income for the division for the quarter that ended June 30. Viad on July 27 reported net income of $6.1 mil- lion, or 30 cents a share, on revenue of $246.4 mil- lion, compared with income of $4.5 million, or 22 cents a share, on revenue of $238.7 million during the same quarter a year earlier. Company executives applauded the perfor- mance of both divisions, but it was improvement in the Marketing and Events Group that drove most of the growth. The GES division had revenue of $165.5 million, compared with $150.2 million during the second quarter of 2011. The North American division outshined de- clines in the European sector that resulted from revenue growth, despite negative show rotation of $9 million, and in driving more revenue to the bottom line through diligent labor management, tight control of discretionary spending and efforts to optimize our U.S. service delivery network," Dykstra said. negative show rotation — some of the conventions and meetings it had in 2011 were at other venues or didn't meet in 2012 — and an unfavorable currency exchange rate. Steve Moster, president of GES in Las Vegas, said because a large percentage of the division's business occurs in Southern Nevada, same-show 12 Moster said the outlook is good, particularly in Las Vegas, for the third quarter. quarter was the eighth consecutive quarter of growth within the division. "It's a trend of the industry coming back and the growth pattern has been a long one," said Moster, who was appointed president of the division in No- vember 2010. GES measures growth by the amount of conven- tion space serviced, the number of exhibitors and the number of convention attendees accommo- dated. While GES drove much of Viad's quarterly growth, a big chunk of it didn't occur in Las Vegas. Viad president, chairman and CEO Paul Dykstra explained that some of the growth could be at- tributed to the company's signing last year of the American Wind Energy Association's Windpower Conference and Exhibition, which was staged in June in Atlanta. The new show helped GES over- come negative show rotation. "The GES team was successful in achieving ONE STEP CLOSER: An artist's rendering depicts what the XpressWest high-speed rail line, formerly DesertXpress, would look like. TRANSPORTATION LAS VEGAS-BASED ALLEGIANT AIR ADDING MORE JETS By Richard N. Velotta senior staff writer L as Vegas-based Allegiant Air will introduce a new aircraft type to its fleet next year, company officials announced last week. Allegiant, which operates a fleet of 58 twin-engine MD-80 jets and owns six twin-engine Boeing 757s that it uses on flights between the West Coast and Hawaii, will lease nine twin-engine Airbus A319 jets and buy 10 more. Company officials say the first two of the jets will be in operation for the airline by the second quarter of 2013. Allegiant will lease nine jets from GE Capital Aviation Services and lease and eventually purchase 10 jets from Cebu Pacific Air. The company did not disclose financial details of the deals. The company said the acquisitions airline's growth strategies. support the The A319, used by several carriers at McCarran International Airport, has a maximum capacity of 156 passengers and a range of 3,700 miles, making it capable of reaching some of Allegiant's eastern destinations. The A319s are more fuel-efficient than the MD-80s and some models are equipped with wingtip "Sharklets" that reduce fuel burn and emissions, increase range and payload and increase operating performance. | 6 AUGUST 2012 | COURTESY ART