LAS VEGAS - The online video animation of LV Air shows the airline's spacious first-class cabin with seats that recline into beds. LV Air executives say the flights also include mood lighting, music, an iPad given to every passenger and a Las Vegas meal experience.
"(It) is basically a $25.00 meal pack by either one of the celebrity chefs in Las Vegas. You'll have inter-seat texting, inter-seat video, and it'll just be a really unique experience," said LV Air executive Sean Smith.
The flight shuns traditional boring pre-flight instructions. Instead, local celebrities conduct the safety demonstrations through holographs. When passengers arrive in Las Vegas, a limousine will transport them directly to their hotel. Passengers will never have to enter an airport terminal or a carousel to pick up their baggage.
"It's really going to happen, because I don't think there's been any better time in history to make it happen," said Smith.
Smith says with so many Las Vegas flight cuts in recent years, he hopes to fill that gap and boost the local economy. Smith says he's currently negotiating with casinos, which would buy the flights and luxury experience for its high-end gamblers.
"We've discussed it with the Venetian, The Cosmopolitan, Station Casinos and, of course, nothing's final yet. It takes a lot longer to work these deals out. It's so intricate. You've got the casino side of it, the marketing side of it and the room side of it," he said.
Tourists and locals say the concept seems promising. "I think that'd be wonderful for the tours and the people that have never been to Las Vegas - to see how Las Vegas is and tour, and see how fun it is and how alive it is," said Las Vegas resident Tierra Washington.
"The concept's good. That's what we're all made up of here in the United States is entertainment. So if it's entertaining, people will do it," added tourist Lee Carpenter.
A ticket on LV Air will cost $400 to $600. First class tickets will range between $1,400 and $2,500. LV Air hopes to start service this fall with four daily non-stop flights to Las Vegas from New York's JFK Airport.
