Airlines have a say in whether Las Vegas airport expansion will happen

Within weeks, representatives of 13 airlines that serve Harry Reid International Airport will gather in Las Vegas to hear a presentation on the airport management’s proposal to expand and modernize the facility.

The proposed modernization is a stopgap project that is expected to handle growing passenger demand while a second supplemental reliever airport is built south of Las Vegas in the Ivanpah Valley within the next 12 years.

An expansion appears necessary because Reid passenger numbers are growing at an extraordinary rate.

Reid reported a record 57.6 million passengers in 2023 and, after nine months, is on track to be even higher in 2024 with year-to-date counts up 2.4 percent over last year.

Having enough parking available is a chronic problem for the airport with parking garages filled to capacity, especially on three-day weekends and holidays, and sometimes on non-holiday weekends. Reid officials recently took a step toward an improved customer experience by offering reserved airport parking, but that comes with a higher price with some parking rates more than 50 percent higher to $28 a day with a reservation.

The Dec. 10 meeting of the Airline Airport Affairs Committee is important because that group would review rates and charges that would be assessed to pay for airport capital projects, including a plan that would expand Terminal 1 from 39 to 65 gates, build two multimodal centers that would also add airport parking and redesign roadways that would separate direct connections between the two airport terminals from airport bypass traffic.

No votes are expected at the meeting, which isn’t open to the public.

Clark County Aviation Director Rosemary Vassiliadis and two airport planning associates, Senior Director of Aviation James Chrisley and Managing Director of Planning Bryant Holt, briefed the Clark County Commission on the plan in a 25-minute overview of projects on Oct. 1, a presentation Commission Chairman Tick Segerblom said was one “we’ve all been waiting for.”

‘Piers’ instead of ‘satellites’

Airport executives didn’t put a price tag on the project, which would include construction of a new concourse of 11 gates and the revamping of the A and B gates from “satellite” gate arrangements to “piers.”

The A and B gates have corridors branching out to two hubs with six gates each. Under a more linear pier design, the A and B gates would be expanded from the existing 23 spaces to 33.

The expansion proposal also would address Reid’s continual car parking shortage by building two multimodal centers that would provide access to ride-hailing companies, public transportation options and airport crew members and employee parking.

Moving crew and employee parking and ride-hailing areas to those centers would free up close-in parking near the terminal and potentially add more long-term parking farther away.

The north multimodal center would be considered off Paradise Road south of Tropicana Avenue, and a south center is being eyed somewhere between Interstate 215 and Sunset Road and between Las Vegas Boulevard and Gillespie Road. Officials aren’t far enough along with planning to determine how many new spaces would be provided or how tall any parking structure could be or if some of it could be subterranean.

Airport officials say that the multibillion-dollar proposal probably would take about four years to complete and the objective isn’t to increase capacity but to make existing operations run smoother, especially during peak use periods.

13 airlines in AAAC

The Airline Airport Affairs Committee has 13 airlines represented: Air Canada, Alaska, Allegiant Air, American, British Airways, Delta, Frontier, Hawaiian, JetBlue, Southwest, Spirit, United and WestJet.

Reid spokeswoman Monika Bertaki said the AAAC generally meets at least once a year to set rates and charges and to review a capital improvement program that outlines capital outlays for a five-year period.

When it comes to voting, each airline gets weighted representation based on its market share. For example, Southwest’s vote would have greater value than Allegiant’s.

Contacted by the Review-Journal about the feelings toward the modernization project, Southwest officials declined comment, saying the company preferred to hear airport management’s presentation in December before discussing it publicly.

Southwest would be one of the carriers that could have the most at stake in the expansion because it uses the B gates for some of its flights. Southwest has been a growing presence in Las Vegas and plans to add red-eye night flights to and from Reid in early 2025.

While the airline’s growth plan has been curtailed by delayed aircraft deliveries from Boeing — a problem for multiple carriers that use Boeing jets in their fleets — it’s more pronounced for Las Vegas as Reid’s busiest commercial carrier with an average 234 daily flights, according to Reid records.

Las Vegas-based Allegiant Air also would have plenty at stake because its entire operation arrives and departs from the A gates.

Allegiant’s view

Allegiant CEO Greg Anderson said in a recent interview that the airline has flights to about 60 destinations, around 40 of which provide the only nonstop option to and from Las Vegas.

“We’re bringing a unique customer into Las Vegas,” Anderson said. “And being the hometown airline, that’s something we’re really proud of and we want to continue to strengthen our footprint here in Vegas.”

Anderson said he has kept an eye on gate constraints and access and wants to be supportive of plans that would head off problems.

“We’re encouraged by some of the expansion, and we work closely with Rosemary Vassiliadis and her team out at the airport just to make sure that Allegiant has the space we need so we can continue to bring in those unique customers here into Vegas. I can’t say anything about what we’re looking at today, but we just want to make sure that we’re looking out ahead and we’re having constructive dialogue with the airport leadership team to ensure that Allegiant continues to have the proper real estate or footprint to grow and support Vegas in the way Allegiant can.”

Based on initial plans, the airport would never lose any gate capacity while construction is underway. Crews would first build the new 11-gate concourse that would extend toward where Terminal 2 once stood. Once completed, A or B gate traffic could be redirected to the new facility while modifications occur in the A and B wings.

Once the project is completed, Terminal 3 would be renamed Terminal 2 to avoid customer confusion.

Contact Richard N. Velotta at rvelotta@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3893. Follow @RickVelotta on X.