Las Vegas Weekly

October 25, 2009 · 9:01 PM

Photo Gallery: Mayor and entourage arrive safe and sound

By Robin Leach

British Airways CEO Willie Walsh, center left, and Mayor Oscar Goodman, center right, are flanked by Las Vegas showgirls and British Airways ambassadors upon deplaning the inaugural British Airways nonstop flight from London to Las Vegas on Oct. 25, 2009.

Photo: Glenn Pinkerton/Las Vegas News Bureau

From my Twitter page Twitter.com/Robin_Leach starting about 7 p.m. (spelling and punctuation have been corrected for this non-Twitterverse):

Holly Madison’s plans to greet Mayor Oscar Goodman on arrival at the British Airways inaugural flight into McCarran went up in smoke. His one hour later arrival than scheduled cuts right into curtain up at tonight’s Peepshow performance at Planet Hollywood.

Unbelievable introductory, low, round-trip fares to England and Europe on new British Airways flights from McCarran to celebrate new route. As of tomorrow morning, it’s $276 economy round trip and $3,136 business class until midnight Thursday.

Travel through London Heathrow for Paris, Rome, Milan, Athens or Madrid, and the fare is only $358. A super, four-day sale.

Mayor Oscar’s flight is 40 miles out and will be landing on Runway 1. Water cannons are in place. We are on the tarmac and will send Twitter photo. Our contributing photographer Glenn Pinkerton (of the Las Vegas News Bureau) is here on the tarmac with me, and we will have a full photo gallery at 6 a.m.

For those of you asking me how you get the super-low fares, go to www.BA.com. Sale starts Monday morning. No codes.

British Airways plane 10 minutes out. Water cannons just tested. It’s landed. Welcome home to Las Vegas. The B.A. inaugural flight is parked at the gate.

Interviews with Mayor Oscar and Mrs. Carolyn Goodman and B.A. chief pilot Stephen Reilly, who always flies inaugurals, wheels up to landing in 10 hours and 3 minutes. Captain Reilly delayed flight one hour before takeoff due to hydraulics brake light malfunction. He and the crew are staying at Planet Hollywood for two nights before returning.

Check back here on Vegas DeLuxe tomorrow for our full report and photos.

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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Follow VDLX Editor Don Chareunsy on Twitter HERE.

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