On April 15, the test run for the direct flight from the San Luis Obispo County Regional Airport to Las Vegas will come to an end.
On December 15, the seasonal flight was offered to the region resulting in a short, nearly hour-long flight that Courtney Pene, the Deputy Director of Airports, Planning and Outreach for SLO County, said was well-received.
“It's been a very popular route. Residents have loved going to Las Vegas with such ease and convenience and continue to travel on from Las Vegas to other parts of the country and our world,” Pene said.
The airport found that the Vegas flight had a 70% load factor, the percentage of available seats an airline has been able to sell on its flights during the given four-month period. In short, it wasn’t the most popular flight but still did well in its seasonal offering.
“Our partnership with Alaska Airlines is very strong," Pene said. "We're hopeful that we will see positive outcome and we are hopeful that the flight will return.”
“I believe there's enough people in this area to sustain a good flight like that to Vegas. I think it's a wonderful idea,” said local resident Ron Rinell.
Former pilot and retired local resident Tom Head has flown the route and driven it many times and he prefers flying with a drive from San Luis Obispo taking up to seven hours or more depending on traffic.
“It's fast. You barely get up. You get a cup of coffee and you're landing already. It's a quick flight. It's easy,” he said.
However, the main concern was the cost of a round-trip ticket which a quick search revealed to hover around $400.
“The price is kind of high," Head said. "But when you stop and really think about it, you drive your car — that's still an expense. You got to pay for parking. It's a hassle. I think it's a good deal.”
While the test run of the flight still has to be evaluated, the airport is encouraged that Las Vegas could be a potential permanent direct flight and is hopeful the partnership with Alaska Airlines will lend itself to make that happen.
Looking ahead, the airport is expanding its daily flights:
- American Airlines will launch a second daily flight to Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport beginning May 7.
- Alaska Airlines will add a second daily flight to San Diego International Airport on May 16.
