As Las Vegas Airport Approaches a Record, Tourism Officials are Rewarded

As Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas approaches record for capacity in October, executives with the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority are being rewarded with bonuses and raises for bringing tourism back from being practically non-existent.

According to the first of two stories in the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Harry Reid International (formerly McCarran International Airport) will have more seats on flights coming to Vegas than at any other time in the airport's history.

The newspaper reported that the airport will have an average of 98,697 seats available arriving every day in Las Vegas on 146 flights operated by 31 different airlines.

The numbers are impressive, but if you've followed the airline industry it's not a surprise. Barely two months ago, Harry Reid International regained the greatest capacity of post-pandemic fliers of any airport in the world.

The equation is simple - the most available seat miles, the most passengers arriving in Sin City.

"We don't talk about recovery anymore," said Joel Van Over, senior director at Ailevon Pacific, an international aviation development company with its North American headquarters in Atlanta. "We talk about growth and opportunities."

A lot of that credit can go to Las Vegas' main tourism arm, the LVCVA, and its leadership. For their efforts in bringing the city back a literal shutdown in the spring and summer of 2020 due to the pandemic, four executives from its management team received a total of $287,469 in bonuses and $55,475 in annual salary increases, according to the Review-Journal.

LVCVA President and CEO Steve Hill and General Counsel Caroline Bateman also received incentive pay for a job well done.

Hill received a 10 percent raise and a 50 percent bonus, raising his base salary from $406,916 per year to $447,608 with a one-time bonus of $203,458. Hill recommended Bateman receive a seven percent salary increase to $219,572 per year with a 25 percent bonus of $51,302.