Are you ready for a new "Las Vegas-themed" airline?
A Nevada businessman thinks New Yorkers are, telling the Las Vegas Sun that he hopes to get his planned LV Air charter operation off the ground by August.
LV Air chief Sean Smith says his carrier would offer VIP-oriented service on four daily round-trip flights between Las Vegas and New York JFK. He plans to lease widebody Boeing 767 jets for his regularly scheduled commercial charter operation.
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"The goal is to fill Las Vegas hotel rooms with players, conventioneers and vacationers from the Northeast by drawing a straight line between the customer at his home to the casino floor and back again," Smith tells the Sun.
The Sun says Smith's plan is to strike a deal with casino operators in which casino would buy seats on the flights and then give them away to their top customers.
In return, LV Air would pass along its database of potential new customers in the New York area, according to the Sun.
As you might expect, work remains before the LV Air can fly its first passenger. A disclaimer on the company's website says:
LV Air will be a subsidiary of an existing commercial air carrier, and its ability to operate is dependent upon receipt (which is not assured or guaranteed) of all necessary governmental authorizations.
But if Smith is able to put his plan in motion, he plans a top-rate experience for the high-rollers that LV Air plans to cater to.
The Associated Press says "the airline promises in-flight meals prepared by Las Vegas chefs and fully reclining flatbed seats designed by casino companies in the first-class cabin."
That's not all.
KTNV Channel 13 of Las Vegas says the in-flight entertainment would include "inter-seat texting; inter-seat video, wireless iPads, club music, mood lighting and true-to-life holographic safety briefings from Las Vegas celebrities. Deluxe Snack Packs will be offered on board and supplied by Las Vegas restaurants."
Yes, that's right: Smith envisions safety briefings delivered by holographic images of Las Vegas celebrities.
He cites other high-end possibilities, such as luggage that would be checked right to passengers' hotel rooms and "smart-phone recognition software" that would let hotel and nightclub workers known when airline patrons are within 100 feet, according to the Sun.
Could LV Air buck the odds and become a success?
While the U.S. airline industry is littered with countless failed start-ups -- including dozens that never even got off the ground -- Smith thinks recent airline cutbacks have left an opening in the Las Vegas market.
"The way I look at it, there is a window of opportunity after the city lost around 18,000 seats coming into the market when airlines cut flights," Smith says to the Sun. 'Our flights may not be the lowest priced, but (it will) definitely (be) the most exciting to Las Vegas."
Stay tuned …
Posted Feb 21 2011 6:44PM
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