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6 BUSINESSVOICE// JUNE 2012 LAS VEGAS CHAMBER OF COMMERCE LAS VEGAS CHAMBER OF COMMERCE JUNE 2012 //BUSINE
T3
TAKES
OFF
Technology will also be a huge component
at T3. The check-in areas include kiosks
that allow people to print and afx their own
baggage tags, which trials have shown
improves the efciency o the baggage
check process. At the gates, passengers
will be able to use sel-boarding devices,
which read your boarding passes and open
up similar to the modern turnstiles one would
fnd at a subway or train station. On the
outside, aircrat will enjoy a new automated
docking eature called Saedock, which
uses a high-perormance laser range fnder
and LED display to guide pilots to within 10
centimeters o their aircrats stop position,
regardless o the weather, time o day or size
o the aircrat.
Terminal 3 is the rst airport acility
to open in the post-9/11 era. What are
some o the challenges and advanced
security eatures in the expansion?
In many ways, designing a new terminal in
the post-9/11 era made things easier, since
we had a better understanding o what the
Transportation Security Administrations
regulations and expectations were rom the
moment we frst put pen to paper.
Some o the things travelers may notice
include bollards on the sidewalks outside
along the curbs, which were installed to
prevent vehicles rom driving too close to
the building. There are also more than
1,000 surveillance cameras within the
main building and garage, which help
improve saety and security.
Also, the T3 security checkpoints were built
to be much larger than any checkpoints rom
the pre-9/11 era. Today we obviously know
more about how the screening processes
have evolved, what steps we can take to
maximize passenger ow prior to those
checkpoints, and so on. I anything, we want
travelers to notice the improved efciency.
What does Terminal 3 mean or th
Las Vegas business community a
the local economy?
For decades, it seemed as though gro
visitor volume was constantly challen
the airports inrastructure. McCarran
expanded in the 1980s, 1990s and 2
but our planners were soon ater pres
readdress the next challenge as more
and airlines expressed a desire to y t
Vegas, and we had to come up with n
ways to squeeze everyone in.
T3 will add 14 aircrat gates, including
equipped to handle direct internationa
arrivals, a market that has enjoyed do
digit growth in recent years. It can als
support the check-in, security screen
baggage claim needs o up to 26
gates at McCarrans D Concourse, loc
just a 45-second tram ride away. The
to split D gates trafc between two te
will greatly relieve peak period conges
he opening o Terminal 3 at McCarran International Airport is generating national buzz, rom the sophistication o its technology
to the aesthetics o the original art installations adorning di erent points o the terminal. We asked Randall Walker, Director o
the Clark County Department o Aviation, about what the opening o Terminal 3 means or the uture o Las Vegas.
What are some o Terminal 3s eatures and amenities that will keep us at the oreront o travel and tourism?
At 1.9 million square eet, it oers added space. Most people probably dont realize the airports existing inrastructure was only designed
to process up to 40 million passengers per year. With some creativity we were able to handle almost 48 million passengers in our busiest
year in 2007, but we could not go on like that orever. The extra space at T3 is something we believe people will notice right away.
T
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1.9 million square eet
$2.4 billion cost
14 additional gates
15 baggage carousels
100% common use
32 curbsidecheck-in positions
1,000 cameras
1,150 LCD and LED dynamic signage
203 sel-service kiosks
130 check-in positionsin ticketing lobby
1,800 workers employedduring the peak o construction
(December 2009)
6,000 spaces in the parking garage
10,000 square ootduty-ree shop
BY THENUMBERS
$
SF
P
%
SIGN
T3
increase efciency and reduce waiting
times, travelers at Terminal 3 will alsoenjoy some o the airline indust rys
latest technologies.
We also have added a lot o comort amenities,
including new stores and restaurants, and
have continued our longstanding practice o
oering ree wireless Internet service, with
plenty o additional places to recharge your
cell phone or hand-held device. All o these
improved measures will support added growth
within Southern Nevadas tourism industry.
Travel and Leisuremagazine
readers recently named McCarran
the number seven-rated airport
overall, including having the best
location among airports surveyed.
What does this mean or Terminal 3
and McCarrans uture?
Its always nice to receive credit rom
outside parties, whether it is t he recent Travel
and Leisureranking or J.D. Power
and Associates, which selected McCarran as
the top airport in North America a ew years
ago. In reality, our more than 1,400 employees
understand that McCarran provides the frst
and last impression o Las Vegas or millions o
travelers each year. We take that responsibility
seriously because we recognize that most
travelers choose to visit Las Vegas rather thancome here because they have to. The last
thing we want is or someone to choose to
take their next trip elsewhere because they
had a bad experience at McCarran.
How will the new GPS-based air trac
control system expand the capacityo the airport? What does it mean or
Southern Nevada?
McCarran is uniquely positioned to
receive benefts rom the Federal Aviation
Administrations Next Generation Air
Transportation System, or NextGen. Its
primary efciencies are expected to result
in greater predictability o ight paths, and
improved ability or FAA air trafc controllers
to have more planes in the air saely at
any given time.
McCarran is one o the frst airports in the
nation to implement new NextGen instrument
approach procedures called Area Navigation
(RNAV), Standard Instrument Departures (SIDS)
and Standard Terminal Arrival Routes (STARS).
In essence, they reer to procedures that will
allow arriving or departing aircrat to ollow
more efcient and environmentally riendly
ight paths to and rom the airport. In turn,
that will result in less noise over noise-
sensitive areas, and reduced carbon emissions
thanks to aircrat gaining the ability to burn
less uel while in ight.
The modernization aorded by NextGen will
greatly improve efciency or air travel to Las
Vegas, and we are hopeul that NextGen may
help reduce delays, as well.
The bottom line is simple: at some point, the
airline industry will recover, and the systematic
delays and congestion that were commonplace
a ew years ago will again become the norm
unless the ederal government takes action toimprove the nations air trafc control systems.
NextGen is the way to address that problem,
hopeully in the short-term uture.
How do you view the airport in terms o
visitor experience? How does the new
terminal actor into showcasing Las
Vegas as an ideal business location to the
millions o people that travel through it?
Terminal 3s appearance will demonstrate
to travelers that this is a community that is
committed to its number one industry, and
remains willing to invest in acilities that provide
the inrastructure necessary or Las Vegas to
remain one o the worlds most popular travel
destinations or decades to come.
As Las Vegas works to attract and
expand businesses, how does the airport
t into an economic diversication
strategy and what advantages does
McCarran bring in making Las Vegas a
competitive place to do business?
The airport is just one component o any
regions economic diversifcation strategy,
but I am confdent McCarran is a strong
selling point or those engaged in such
eorts here locally.
Business travelers here have access to an
airport that sees nearly 500 departures each
day, with nonstop service to any o 139
airports around the world. There are not many
Continued on page 10
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10 BUSINESSVOICE// JUNE 2012 LAS VEGAS CHAMBER OF COMMERCE LAS VEGAS CHAMBER OF COMMERCE JUNE 2012 //BUSINE10
communities, certainly none the size o Las
Vegas, which can match that type o reach in
terms o scheduled air service.
In addition, McCarrans location is in close
proximity to this communitys central
business corridor, which can also be
advantageous when comparing travel times
here versus those in some other cities.
Charlotte Douglas International Airport
has logistics tied into its airport. How
does the growth o logistics t into the
overall sustainability and uture economic
development o Southern Nevada?
For logistics to take on a l arger role at
McCarran, the community must frst create
a more robust manu acturing base. Todaythe airports core unction remains the
movement o travelers, not cargo, because
our communitys primary industry is still
travel and tourism.
Last year, or example, McCarran handled
less than 95,000 tons o cargo airportwide.
By comparison, Los Angeles International
Airport had nearly 1.8 million tons. Also, a
signifcant portion o the cargo we d o see at
McCarran is directly or indirectly connected
to the tourism indust ry, whether that means
resh seaood own in or use in restaurants
or resh owers that that will be used to
decorate a place setting within a hotel lobbyor conerence center.
The LVCVA has identied international
markets as an important part o
expanding our visitor trac. What
is the strategy o expanding direct
international fights and how can Las
Vegas grow its international capacity?
Terminal 3 provides seven gates that can
accommodate international arrivals that
require direct access to screening by U.S.
Call 383.4650 to subscribe to Southern Nevadas LEADING source for LOCAL BUSINESS NEWS.
SOME LEAD.Others follow.
Richard JohnsonChie Financial Ofcer
The Smith Center orthe Perorming A
702.248.4200bankonevada.com/smith-center
Banko Nevada is an afliate o Western Alliance Bancorporation04/12
FORWARDTOGETHER
Before there was music, there was a partnership.
We are particularly gratifed that our lending is rom a local,community-based bank because this is a acility that was built or
the community. It makes or a great collaborative partnership.
Customs and Border Protection ofcials.
Previously, McCarran only had our such
gates, and those were much less efcientthan what T3 has in place. This act alone
was a signifcant development or the
communitys international marketing push,
because without T3 there simply would not
have been room or McCarran to accept
more direct international ights during
peak arrival periods.
Aside rom the added space, we work
closely with the LVCVA to market the
destination and McCarran beore potential
airline partners.
We are always looking into which markets
we believe could beneft rom new s ervice,
and strategically trying to contact specifc
carriers that may be capable o serving
those areas o the world.
This approach has been successul. In May,
we welcomed new seasonal service rom
Germanys Airberlin, and in June well add
nonstop ights rom Amsterdam by a carrier
called ArkeFly. We are particularly excit
about the June 27 addition o Copa, a
Panamanian carrier that has a great neor one-stop Las Vegas service to cities
throughout Latin America. British Airwa
has also just announced its plans to ad
three-times-per-week service rom Lon
Gatwick, as well. There is a lot to be ex
about in terms o international visitatio
Terminal 3 opens to the public on
June 27. For more inormation on t
opening activities, visit McCarran.