United Airlines will add 44 new flights to and from Las Vegas in January to service the expected surge in demand for CES, the airline announced.
Chicago-based United, the sixth largest commercial airline at McCarran International Airport, said Monday that it will increase capacity 37 percent from what the airline normally flies with new flights and larger planes on existing flights in January.
United flew 1.9 million passengers to and from Las Vegas in the first three quarters of 2021, a 39.5 percent decrease from the number in the same period in 2019.
“The return of personal conferences and events is a very positive sign of the recovery from the pandemic and United is in a unique position to capitalize on this growing demand,” said Ankit Gupta, senior vice president of domestic planning and United Express, in a company approval. “We’re expanding around 80 percent of the capacity we did for CES in 2020, showing that business travel is on the rise and our customers are eager to meet with customers and colleagues.”
United will offer non-stop flights from locations not normally served to and from Las Vegas.
CES, the Consumer Electronics Association’s annual consumer electronics show, is typically the largest show and conference on the Las Vegas calendar. CES exhibits fill several convention halls across the city. Before the coronavirus pandemic, CES drew more than 180,000 visitors from around the world each year.
At the beginning of this year, the CES was held virtually. However, organizers expect the return to a live show in 2022 will result in higher demand.
Between October 27 and November 9, United.com searches for flights to Las Vegas increased 70 percent during CES 2022 compared to the previous two weeks, United officials said. Nearly 20 percent said they expected travel to meetings and conferences to exceed pre-pandemic levels in 2022, according to a recent United business customer survey.
The airline is adding 14 new direct flights between Las Vegas and Boston in early January; San Jose, California; and Fort Lauderdale and Orlando, Florida. United is also expanding service to its San Francisco hub airports and Los Angeles international airports; Dulles International Airport in Washington DC and Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey.
United will fly 81 flights to Las Vegas during the main arrival days January 3-4 and 109 flights on the main departure days January 8-10. The new flights include:
– Eight direct flights from San Jose
– Six direct flights from Fort Lauderdale, Boston and Orlando
– Fifteen additional flights from San Francisco, including nine flights on a larger aircraft
– Eight additional flights from Los Angeles, including four flights on a larger aircraft
– Five additional flights from Dulles in Washington DC
– Two additional flights from Newark
Customers can book reservations for the new flights on United.com.
Contact Richard N. Velotta at rvelotta@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3893. Follow @RickVelotta on Twitter.
