United adding flights to cater to CES 2022 crowd

United Airlines is adding 44 new flights to and from Las Vegas in January to serve an anticipated surge in demand for CES, the airline has announced.

Chicago-based United, the sixth-busiest commercial air carrier at McCarran International Airport, said Monday that it will increase capacity by 37 percent over what the airline normally flies in January with new flights and larger aircraft on existing flights.

United has flown 1.9 million passengers to and from Las Vegas in the first three quarters of 2021, a 39.5 percent decline from the number brought during the same period in 2019.

“The return of in-person conferences and events is a very positive sign in the pandemic recovery, and United is uniquely positioned to capitalize on this increase in demand,” Ankit Gupta, senior vice president of domestic planning and United Express, said in a company release. “We’re adding about 80 percent of the capacity we did for CES in 2020, demonstrating that business travel is on the rebound and our customers are eager to reunite with clients and colleagues.”

United will have nonstop flights from locations it doesn’t normally serve to and from Las Vegas.

CES, the annual consumer electronics show produced by the Consumer Electronics Association, usually is the largest trade show and convention on the Las Vegas calendar. CES exhibits fill several convention halls around the city. Before the coronavirus pandemic, CES drew more than 180,000 attendees from around the world every year.

Earlier this year, CES was conducted virtually. But organizers believe the return to a live show in 2022 will result in higher demand.

Between Oct. 27 and Nov. 9, searches on United.com for flights to Las Vegas during CES 2022 were up 70 percent compared with the prior two-week period, United officials said. According to a recent survey of United’s business customers, nearly 20 percent said they expect travel to meetings and conferences will exceed pre-pandemic levels in 2022.

The airline is adding 14 new direct flights in early January between Las Vegas and Boston; San Jose, California; and Fort Lauderdale and Orlando, Florida. United also is ramping up service to its hub airports of San Francisco and Los Angeles international airports; Dulles International Airport in Washington D.C. and Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey.

United will fly 81 flights into Las Vegas during the peak arrival days of Jan. 3-4, and 109 flights on the peak departure days of Jan. 8-10. 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 D.C.

— 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.