Air fares drop on Las Vegas-Los Angeles route

With fresh competition having entered the critical Las Vegas-Los Angeles route, air fares have started to drop on a limited basis.

Several airlines, including market leader Southwest, have dropped the prices of Tuesday and Wednesday flights to $64 roundtrip from what had been a standard $98. JetBlue going to nearby Long Beach has followed suit.

Fares have not changed on other days of the week.

In May, discounter Spirit started the route with its own low fares coupled with fees for many other things, including buying a ticket online and storing a bag in the overhead bin.

Las Vegas-based Allegiant is now as low as $20 roundtrip to Long Beach, depending on the day of the week.

Southern California typically accounts for more than one-fourth of the visitors to Las Vegas. The 254 flights a week to Los Angeles is the busiest route out of McCarran International Airport, well ahead of the 182 flights to Phoenix.

The discounts to Los Angeles still fall short of a fare war that started late last year, when roundtrips dropped to $38 most days of the week.

Contact reporter Tim O’Reiley at
toreiley@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5290.