A new flight service from Carlsbad to Las Vegas officially launched Thursday out of McClellan-Palomar Airport.
Fittingly joined by an Elvis impersonator, San Diego County Chairman Bill Horn and Carlsbad Mayor Matt Hall came together to celebrate the inaugural 10:35 a.m. flight to Las Vegas offered by commercial air carrier BizAir Shuttle.
For now, BizAir plans to offer regularly scheduled one-way or round-trip flights from Carlsbad to Sin City on Thursdays, Fridays and Sundays, with plans to potentially expand if the service is popular.
Customers can book flights online and park at McClellan-Palomar Airport for $5 a day. Curbside drop-off is also available in front of the airline terminal.
BizAir says flight prices to Las Vegas start at $154 per person, plus tax, with no baggage fees and complimentary snacks and drinks on board. A booking search for a flight departing this Friday and returning on Sunday yielded tickets ranging in price from $249 to $299 per way.
BizAir’s 30-seat jet shuttle currently also offers two daily flights from Carlsbad to Los Angeles. BizAir plans to expand its service to Phoenix in September and Oakland, Calif. and San Jose, Calif., in the near future as well.
In 2009, the county completed a $24 million renovation that added an 18,000 square-foot terminal to the McClellan-Palomar Airport, in addition to new parking and a restaurant.