SIA launches direct flight to Las Vegas
Riyadi Suparno, The Jakarta Post, Las Vegas, Nevada
Meeting rising demand for gambling and adventure needs among Asians, Singapore Airlines (SIA) has launched a direct flight to the U.S. entertainment capital of Las Vegas via Hong Kong.
The service is the first direct flight between Southeast Asia and Las Vegas.
Launching the service here on Friday, SIA senior vice president for America Ng Chin Hwee said SIA would provide nearly 1,000 seats each week, with its thrice weekly B777-200 ER (Extended Range) direct flight to Las Vegas.
In addition to the new service, SIA continues to serve two of the U.S. West Coast gateways: Los Angeles and San Francisco.
With these flights, Ng said, SIA will bring more Asians into the U.S., which will eventually help boost economic and tourism development in the region, including Las Vegas.
"The passengers will add to revenue streams to the shops, hotels, spas, taxis, restaurants of Las Vegas and also slot machines," Ng said, referring to the abundant casinos in Las Vegas.
Casinos are indeed the lifeblood of Las Vegas. Casinos have been the prime mover of economic development in the valley since the state of Nevada legalized gambling in the early 1930s.
Las Vegas and its casinos have attracted a large number of gamblers from around the world, including from Asia.
In fact, Asians comprise the largest number of gamblers in Las Vegas, contributing some 60 percent to 70 percent of casino revenues into the city, with 20 percent coming from Americans and the remaining from Europeans and Latinos.
Asians are also among the biggest gamblers and are locally known as high rollers or whales.
During the past 10 years or so, Las Vegas, nevertheless, has transformed itself from a city known predominantly for its casinos into a popular venue for conferences, exhibitions and other events.
Today, casinos contribute around 40 percent to 45 percent of revenues of most hotels in Las Vegas.
As congresswoman Shirley Burke from Las Vegas said, "The city has magnificent hotels, fabulous dining, wonderful shopping and spectacular entertainment, and there is no equal in the world."
Besides entertainment, Las Vegas also offers a wide range of tourist attractions, including easy access to the world-famous Grand Canyon.
In addition to bringing Asians to Las Vegas, Ng said SIA would also attract tourists from the West Coast of America to visit East Asia and Southeast Asia using its direct services.
SIA will also lure financial workers in the U.S., especially those residing on the West Coast, to use its service to fly them to two of Asia's major financial centers: Hong Kong and Singapore.
SIA senior executive vice president of commerce Michael Tan said those all factors had encouraged his airline to open the direct flight to Las Vegas.
Tan added that SIA had been studying the feasibility of starting services to Las Vegas for the past two years, and the result revealed that there was great potential in opening a direct flight to the city.
SIA will fly three times a week to Las Vegas from Singapore, with flight number SQ8. Flight SQ8 will depart Singapore to Las Vegas on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays at 6 p.m. and arrive in Las Vegas' McCarran Airport at 9:45 p.m. local time the same day.
The return flight, SQ9, departs Las Vegas at 7 a.m. on Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays, arriving in Singapore at 5:35 p.m. the following day.