Tour Operator Ends LA Trips

Scenic Airlines, a 38-year-old operator of sightseeing trips to the Grand Canyon and other western landmarks, will end scheduled service between Las Vegas and suburban Los Angeles in March. The carrier began service in late December 2004 to Palmdale Regional Airport, part of the Los Angeles World Airports...

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Scenic Airlines, a 38-year-old operator of sightseeing trips to the Grand Canyon and other western landmarks, will end scheduled service between Las Vegas and suburban Los Angeles in March. The carrier began service in late December 2004 to Palmdale Regional Airport, part of the Los Angeles World Airports operation.

Free rent and a subsidized marketing campaign was not enough to produce a break-even venture, said Mitzi Daines, Scenic's marketing director. "The market did not perform up to our target expectations and nor at a level that we could continue to operate," Daines said. "The market just did not respond."

As part of a three-year program designed by Los Angeles airports to reestablish commercial service to Palmdale, new operators were promised a rent-free first year. A carrier would not face a full rent tab until its fourth year of operation. Local governments also chipped in $75,000 to market the service (RAN, Jan. 10, 2005)

Palmdale, which previously had lost scheduled service in 1998, continues to be the focus of efforts to develop it as an alternative airport to Los Angeles International Airport, said Maria Tersoro-Fermin, a spokeswoman for the Palmdale airport. "We are disappointed that Scenic is leaving," she added.

From January to October, there were 4,352 passengers on Scenic's flights, according to the latest airport statistics.

When Scenic began its service, it used a 19-passenger Twin Otter - the same aircraft used for its sightseeing tours. It flew one roundtrip flight each day and two on the weekends.

Last June, Scenic alerted Palmdale officials that it might end the flights in September because the service was not meeting projections. The carrier told local officials that the flights were drawing between 15 and 18 passengers a day and that it needed to fill 21 seats out of the possible 38 seats to break even, according to a city council report. It also was noted that the Twin Otter was drawing complaints.

Scenic agreed to put a Beech 1900 on the route, which cut the travel time to 53 minutes. At the same time, the city purchased 99 roundtrip tickets for $20,000 to spur ridership. The tickets were given away at community events.

The new aircraft and giveaways did not improve the ridership, she said.

Palmdale, located in the Antelope Valley section of Los Angeles County, is on average a 2.5-hour drive to LAX. Promotional efforts stressed the convenience of flying to Las Vegas from Palmdale rather than driving to LAX.

By comparison, there are more than 3,900 passengers flying daily round-trips between LAX and McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas. Scenic charges the same $99 discount one-way fee from Palmdale that Southwest Airlines [LUV] charges for flights from LAX.

While flights from Palmdale may be more convenient, Scenic flies into North Las Vegas Airport, that city's executive airport. The carrier offers free shuttle bus service to either McCarran for connecting flights.

It does offer scheduled service to Ely, Nev., and to both Merced and Visalia in California. The service to all three communities is provided with a essential air service subsidy. It offers tours of Yosemite in conjunction with the Merced service.

Last March, Scenic began service to Elko, Nev., which is not subsidized. Scenic flies from Elko to Reno and from Elko to Las Vegas.

>>Contacts: Mitzi Daines, Scenic, (702) 638-3224; Maria Tersoro-Fermin, Palmdale airport, (909) 975-5360.<<