WestJet adding flights to Las Vegas at Hamilton airport

Hamiltonians will soon be able to say, "What happens in Vegas…" much more easily.

WestJet announced today that it is adding flights from Hamilton to Sin City starting this winter.

Flights will run twice weekly between the two cities starting Dec. 29, 2017, through April 27, 2018.

"As Hamilton International's largest airline, as well as the carrier with the most international flights into Las Vegas, WestJet continues to add new service in Southern Ontario," said Brian Znotins, WestJet vice-president of network planning, alliances and corporate development, in a statement.

"This new non-stop flight connects the community to a highly desirable leisure market and offers a great schedule to those looking to fly directly from Hamilton and surrounding communities without having to drive or connect through Toronto."

One-way tickets start at $189.09.

Flights from Hamilton to Vegas run on Monday and Friday, leaving the John C Munroe International airport at 4:50 p.m. and arriving in Nevada at 6:36 p.m.

The flight back will be a bleary-eyed one though — flights back to Hamilton will run on Monday and Friday, leaving Vegas at 11 p.m. and arriving in Ontario at 6:05 a.m.

The move comes as Hamilton's airport more than doubled its passenger numbers in the first six months of this year, compared to the first half of 2016. The airport currently hosts flights operated by five passenger carriers: Flair (formerly NewLeaf), Air Canada, WestJet, Air Transat and Sunwing Airlines.

Passenger numbers at Hamilton's airport have long fallen short of expectations, dropping more than 100,000 since 2009. But new discount airlines, and bigger carriers trying to compete with them, appear to be turning that trend around.