In 2002 (the most recent year for which statistics are available), Las Vegas got over 35 million visitors. About 45 percent of them came by air, booking themselves onto one of the 60 carriers that service McCarran International Airport. And we would guess that 80 percent of those folks paid too much for their ticket.
Getting a good airfare to Las Vegas can be a crapshoot. Fares bobble up and down on a daily basis, with seemingly little rhyme or reason. But there are factors that control these prices, from the peculiar seasons that govern Vegas tourism to the use of the correct carrier. Here are a few tips to make finding cheap airfare to Las Vegas less of a gamble.
Play your cards right: Fly midweek
The days may seem to blend into one another inside the dark casinos, but it pays to take note of the calendar when booking your flights. Vegas airfare plays by many of the same travel rules that other destinations do, the first being that flying midweek travel (Tuesday-Thursday) is almost always cheaper than flying on the weekends. In fact, departing on a Tuesday instead of a Friday can save you as much as 50 percent (depending on your airline and gateway). Take note that you’ll need a place to stay once you get there, and hotels are also considerably less expensive midweek. To read more about that, simply click here.
Happy holidays
Sin City attracts tourists for its casinos, shows, sporting events and of course, conventions. The last may be the biggest factor in airfares, which are based on a complex algorhythm of supply and demand. When demand is steep, so usually are prices.
The best way to scope out the convention scene in advance is to visit the website of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors’ Authority (www.lasvegas24hours.com). It lists all of the events going on in town, months in advance. We learned there, for example that the week of Feb. 9 is not going to pretty in Sin City: an estimated 35,000 people will attend the World Shoe Association’s convention from Feb. 10-13; 32,000 people are slated to go to the Shooting, Hunting and Outdoor Trade Show from Feb.12-15; and the Photo Marketing Association International is expecting about 30,000 attendees from Feb. 12-15. Unless you like crowds (or shoes, cameras and big guns), this will not be a good time to visit.
There are also a few holidays to be aware of during January and February. Though it’s not the case with every airline, some charge more than usual in the days preceding and following Super Bowl Sunday, President’s Day and Valentine’s Day. Isn’t love grand?
Hit the jackpot with the "upstart" airlines
Odds are you like to stay within your comfort zone and gravitate toward the airlines you know best, but change can be good. Nowadays, it’s important to look at the so-called no-frills carriers--their prices almost always beat out the bigwigs. The upstarts that consistently offer the best deals on Vegas airfare are Southwest (www.southwest.com), JetBlue (www.jetblue.com), AirTran (http://www.airtran.com/) Spirit Airlines (www.spiritair.com) and America West (www.americawest.com).
We've made a chart of airfares from six major U.S. gateways. All prices are for midweek travel in February and include taxes, and should give you a quick thumbnail sketch of the options. Remember that these exact prices may not be available when you book, as fares change from one day to the next.
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Packages Aplenty
Booking a "vacation package", one which bundles together airfare and hotel costs, can often save you time and money. Travel companies have greater buying power than do individual travelers; they buy hotel rooms in bulk and then pass along the savings to their clients.
Case in point: Southwest Airlines has an offer which it revives every few months which drops the cost of a two night stay to just $79/per person. Now that package is based on double occupancy, which means that two people are paying a total of $158 for airfare from Los Angeles and two-nights at the Westward Ho-Rear (the property inevitably offerred on this deal). Were the happy couple to try and book these elements separately, they'd end up paying about $154 just for the air portion. Add two nights at the Ho, and the price shoots up by $35/night. So the now even happier couple have saved a whopping $70 which they can then blow on the slot machines.
The savings, by the way, can be even greater at the ritzier properties. Along with Southwest Vacations (www.swavacations.com), other good sources for packages include Eleisurelink.com (www.eleisurelink.com), America West Vacations (www.americawest.com) and from the Midwest and Texas, Worry Free Vacations (www.worryfreevacations.com).