BA takes a punt on Vegas
Autumn 2009
BA really has thrown a lot of chips at this one.
It began with a star-studded bash at the West End’s Studio Valbonne, hosted by the Mayor of Las Vegas, Oscar B Goodman and his missus, with Mel B in attendance for glamorous photo-calls. (Pity the poor Cinderella stewardess who was asked to pose with Mel and a Vegas showgirl.)
After the razzamatazz of Thursday night, the VIP guest list moved to Heathrow for yesterday’s inaugural flight to Arizona’s desert den of iniquity. It wasn’t the best of starts with the flight being delayed by technical problems - birds in the engine perhaps?
It’s a brave bet in times of soaring airline losses to launch daily flights between Heathrow and Las Vegas but the prices are clearly geared to tempt bums onto seats. £479 will buy a return flight + three nights in a hotel but that’s a very short stay after an eleven-hour flight. Don’t plan a Monday morning meeting back at the office if you head off for a weekend jolly.
Las Vegas has been particularly badly hit by the crash of the US economy. A friend who attended a conference at the Venetian Hotel earlier this year commented, “you could fire a cannon through any of the vast casinos and not hit a soul”.
Vegas is clearly doing deals to pull in the punters and BA has jumped on board.
It began with a star-studded bash at the West End’s Studio Valbonne, hosted by the Mayor of Las Vegas, Oscar B Goodman and his missus, with Mel B in attendance for glamorous photo-calls. (Pity the poor Cinderella stewardess who was asked to pose with Mel and a Vegas showgirl.)
After the razzamatazz of Thursday night, the VIP guest list moved to Heathrow for yesterday’s inaugural flight to Arizona’s desert den of iniquity. It wasn’t the best of starts with the flight being delayed by technical problems - birds in the engine perhaps?
It’s a brave bet in times of soaring airline losses to launch daily flights between Heathrow and Las Vegas but the prices are clearly geared to tempt bums onto seats. £479 will buy a return flight + three nights in a hotel but that’s a very short stay after an eleven-hour flight. Don’t plan a Monday morning meeting back at the office if you head off for a weekend jolly.
Las Vegas has been particularly badly hit by the crash of the US economy. A friend who attended a conference at the Venetian Hotel earlier this year commented, “you could fire a cannon through any of the vast casinos and not hit a soul”.
Vegas is clearly doing deals to pull in the punters and BA has jumped on board.
Be Frank: agree or disagree? What do you think?
