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Follow the Money in Las Vegas, All the Way to Their New, $2.4 Billion Dollar Terminal

March 21, 2012 at 2:24 PM | by | Comments (0)

June in Las Vegas. It's gonna be hot, it's gonna be full of pool parties, and it's gonna have a brand new airport terminal to welcome everyone traveling to Sin City to enjoy those high temps and cool pools. The new Terminal 3 at Las Vegas-McCarran International will open for flights on June 27, becoming home to domestic flights from seven airlines and international flights from 15 airlines.

This thing has been a $2.4 billion dollar project several years in the making—from late 2007 to now, in fact—and the massive building even required a major road be moved to allow space for its 14 gates and 8-level parking structure. When it opens, the terminal will already be at capacity with international arrivals for the summer season, so it's about damn time.

Eschewing all the tech specs, we'll just tell you what's cool about the new terminal you need to know:

· It's going to have self boarding gates and self tagging baggage drop stations. YES. This means more reliance on yourself versus interactions with overwhelmed airport staff. We've used self-boarding gates at German airports before, and not only is boarding expedited, but it seriously cuts down on those annoying cloggy lines that happen when gate agents call rows.
· WiFi in the terminal and on the ramp. Sweeeeet. No news on whether or not it'll be free, but fingers crossed.
· The duty-free shop will be 10,000 square feet. Race you to the liquor!
· Dining in the terminal includes Pei Wei Asian Diner, Vegas Chophouse, Starbucks, a Carls Jr. and—our potential favorite—Dewar's Clubhouse.
· It will host art exhibitions and even a possible roadway marathon around the terminal.

June 27 is the first day, but just for international flights. Domestic airlines will sniff the new airport smell with transitions in July and August. Curious if you'll be walking down a brand new jetbridge? These are the airlines flying out of the new Terminal 3: AeroMexico, Air Berlin, Air Canada, Alaska Airlines, ArkeFly, British Airways, Condor, Copa, Frontier, Hawaiian, JetBlue, Korean Air, Philippine Airlines, Sun Country, Sunwing Thomas Cook, United, Virgin America, Virgin Atlantic, VivaAerobus, Volaris, WestJet, and XL Airways.

Now check out this time-lapse video of the construction and start plotting a Vegas weekend during the height of the summer. See you there?

[Photo: Las Vegas McCarran Airport]

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