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Canadian Airline Plan to Fly to Vegas

LAS VEGAS -- A Canadian startup airline has included Las Vegas among its initial destinations and hopes to launch service to McCarran International Airport sometime in late November.

A spokeswoman for the Vancouver, British Columbia-based charter carrier HMY Airways said Monday airline officials hope the proposed Las Vegas service will position the airline as a leading low-fare option for residents of western Canada traveling to and from warm-weather destinations in the United States and Mexico.

"Vancouver residents like to visit places such as Las Vegas, Los Angeles and Mexico, and we think there has been a real void in the (low-cost air service) market," said Joanna Yoe, HMY Airways senior manager for corporate affairs. "Now we want to offer people a new choice."

Using a fleet of two 197-seat Boeing 757-200 aircraft, HMY Airways will offer one flight between Las Vegas and Vancouver each Sunday and Thursday. Service is tentatively scheduled to begin Thanksgiving Day, Yoe said, although an exact date has not been finalized with McCarran officials.

HMY Airways is also considering additional routes to McCarran from its secondary bases in Calgary and Edmonton, Alberta.

"We want to give people the option of direct flights to Las Vegas where ever possible," Yoe said.

Yoe could not disclose HMY Airways' projected Las Vegas/Vancouver fares, although she said its prices would be competitive with those of other carriers. With one daily flight, Alaska Airlines is the only major carrier offering scheduled service between the two cities.

Nonstop service to McCarran is currently unavailable from Calgary and Edmonton.

Scott Russell, air service development coordinator at McCarran, said winter increases in Canadian air service are typical.

"We get a lot of traffic from Canada starting in the fall and continuing through the spring," Russell said.

HMY Airways' other proposed destinations include Mazatlan, Puerto Vallarta, Ixtapa, Cancun and the Riviera Maya in Mexico; Los Angeles; and Manchester, England. Yoe said it hopes to add flights to the Caribbean, Hawaii and unnamed cities in Asia once it can acquire additional aircraft.

The airline's inaugural flights had been scheduled for Nov. 1, however, it said last week on Oct. 15 those flights have been delayed until Nov. 22 so it can refine its operating systems and avoid any glitches, said Brent Stratton, HMY Airways general manager.

HMY Airways is wholly owned by businessman David Ho, chairman and chief executive officer of David T.K. Ho Enterprises. The Vancouver-area businessman is the son of Charles T.K. Ho, head of the family's flagship Hong Kong Tobacco Co. Ltd., the Canada National Post reported.

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