Las Vegas Weekly

October 23, 2009 · 9:26 AM

Oscar set for triumphant return from London aboard British Airways

By Robin Leach

Mayor Oscar Goodman and his showgirls Jennifer and Portia outside BBC Studios in London.

Photo: Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority

For the past four days, Mayor Oscar Goodman has been the busiest and best salesman of Las Vegas while on his official visit to London. The tireless promoter of our city has been in the British capital to mark the new, nonstop daily flight between Las Vegas and London being launched by British Airways on Sunday.

Travel experts on both sides of the Atlantic believe the direct flight will add more than 15,000 visitors a year from my old homeland to the 400,000 who already come here for fun, weddings, entertainment, shopping and gaming.

Before leaving, Oscar told me: “This is a very important achievement for our city. We have been working on it for many years, and now it has become a reality. It will be a huge boost to us with international travelers.”

The new flights will be operated exclusively to and from Heathrow Airport’s luxurious super Terminal 5 by a three-class Boeing 777 with Club World (business class), World Traveler Plus (premium economy) and World Traveler (economy). The Club World cabin offers seats that convert to 180-degree flat beds.

Photo: Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority

Mayor Oscar Goodman is interviewed by the British media.

“Las Vegas will be British Airways’ 19th city in the U.S., with daily flights to the U.K., and we will be playing all the high stakes to make this flight a huge success for Las Vegas and our airline,” British Airways Executive Vice President Americas Simon Talling-Smith said. “And through our new Terminal 5, the largest and most modern airport terminal in Europe, customers will experience quick and convenient connections to and from other British Airways cities in the U.K., Europe, the Middle and Far East, Africa, India and Australia.

“Despite the difficult global economic conditions, Las Vegas represents new business and growth opportunities for British Airways as we continue our commitment to invest in our customers. This means a new U.S.-U.K. route, as well as our continued embodiment of the new Club World in all our long-haul aircraft and the multimillion-dollar investment in Heathrow’s Terminal 5.”

The British Airways 777 for Las Vegas will feature 36 Club World seats, 24 World Traveler Plus seats and 214 World Traveler seats. World Traveler Plus features a separate cabin with 38-inch pitch seats with in-seat power for personal computers and personal CD/DVD players.

Customers flying in Club World experience the airline’s award-winning business class featuring the 6-foot fully flat beds, an in-the-air Club Kitchen and an on-demand flight entertainment system. That bed is perfect for Oscar as he stretches out on Sunday’s very first flight!

Photo: Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority

British Airways Chairman Martin Broughton, Mayor Oscar Goodman and Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority President and CEO Rossi Ralenkotter.

After Sunday’s inaugural celebration journey, which is expected to touch down here between 6:30 and 7:30 p.m., the regular daily eastbound flight, BA274, will depart McCarran International Airport’s Terminal 2 at 7 p.m. and arrive at London Heathrow Airport at 12:50 p.m. the following day. The westbound flight, BA275, will depart Terminal 5, Heathrow, at 2:20 p.m. and arrive at Las Vegas at 5:10 p.m. the same afternoon. Terminal 5 is designed to handle 30 million customers a year.

Round-trip fares between London and Las Vegas in World Traveler will start at $461 and for World Traveler Plus, $1206. Round-trip Club World fares will start at $3,255. In addition to passengers and their baggage, the British Airways 777 will carry as much as 19 tons of cargo between Las Vegas and London.

There will be a departure ceremony at Heathrow for Sunday’s flight, and a contributing British Airways photographer will transmit images of the mid-afternoon pre-boarding festivities there to Vegas DeLuxe so we can post them even before Oscar’s arrival back home here on Sunday evening!

On Monday morning, we’ll have a full photo report and interview with our Merry Mayor of Mirth after his 10-hour, 50-minute flight. Click HERE for his interview on the BBC during his trip to London.

Robin Leach has been a journalist for more than 50 years and has spent the past decade giving readers the inside scoop on Las Vegas, the world’s premier platinum playground.

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