Kelly Ford, vice president of marketing at Travelzoo, said there are a number of reasons the company that lives in the Internet realm wants to go the brick-and-mortar route in Las Vegas.

"A lot of it is being able to get in front of somebody and explaining our value," Ford said. "Some casinos are very Web savvy, but some need a little more hand-holding."

He also said Las Vegas is still a cheaper place to set up shop for high-tech types compared with California's Silicon Valley.

The new office, which will open Monday, will be in the Howard Hughes Center on the fifth floor of the building at 3960 Howard Hughes Parkway.

Ford said the company would start with three employees with hopes of quickly doubling the number. In addition to having sales personnel, Travelzoo will have production people and develop editorial content to better describe some of the local deals.

"It will be good for us to have some eyes and ears on the ground," Ford said.

Among the Las Vegas-based exhibits on display in the Travelzoo are the Aladdin, Allegiant Air, Caesars Palace, the Mirage, the Venetian and Wynn Las Vegas. Ford said 23 percent of the site's 8-million-plus subscribers are making plans to visit Las Vegas, making Southern Nevada the second-highest demanded destination behind Orlando.

In other news:

TransMeridian gone -- Another airline disappeared last week, but will visitors to Las Vegas really miss a carrier that flew here only twice a week -- from Rockford, Ill.?

TransMeridian Airlines, based in Lithia Springs, Ga., filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy and shut down operations at the end of September.

At one time, TransMeridian, founded in 1995, had eight flights a week from four cities to McCarran International Airport, and the airline carried more than 1 million passengers to 150 destinations in the United States, Mexico and the Caribbean, mostly as a charter operator.

The U.S. Transportation Department's Consumer Protection Division said passengers who bought tickets on TransMeridian can seek a refund through their travel agencies or credit card providers. Customers have a 60-day window for filing a claim.

Schedule reductions -- American Airlines has announced the cancellation of 15 round-trip flights as a result of skyrocketing jet fuel prices.

American opted to chop flights from Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport and Chicago's O'Hare International Airport to 10 cities.

Bankrupt major carriers Northwest and Delta also announced some modest schedule reductions, citing fuel costs as the reason.

Of particular note to locals: None of the fuel-price flight cancellations include Las Vegas.

Holy Toledo! -- Las Vegas-based Allegiant Air is introducing flights linking McCarran with Toledo, Ohio, beginning Dec. 15.

Flights will leave Toledo Express Airport for Las Vegas Sundays, Mondays, Thursdays and Fridays at 7:30 p.m., arriving at McCarran at 8:45 p.m., and return Sundays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays at 11:25 p.m., arriving the next morning.

At the same time, Allegiant plans to offer flights between Orlando and Toledo.

Next-generation 737 -- Southwest Airlines, Las Vegas' busiest air carrier and the world's largest operator of Boeing 737 twin-engine jets, has asked the aircraft manufacturer to develop a more fuel-efficient version of the jet and use technologies being incorporated into the 787 Dreamliner jet currently under design.

Southwest was the launch customer for the Boeing 737-700 series, and the airline was scheduled to take delivery of 34 of the planes this year. Currently, Southwest has 217 of that model in its fleet as well as 194 737-300s and 25 737-500s.

Southwest is happy with the performance of the 700 series jets, the most fuel-efficient of the fleet. That efficiency enables Southwest to offer nonstop trips between Las Vegas and several East Coast destinations.

Seattle update -- Southwest's bid to bolt from Seattle's Sea-Tac International Airport for Boeing Field, an airport closer to downtown Seattle, appears to be over.

The proposal met with fierce resistance from a number of political leaders of the area. Then, a new dog entered the fight.

Alaska Airlines, which is based in Seattle, sent a competitive proposal to King County officials to build a $150 million terminal at Boeing Field.

Southwest offered to build a $130 million terminal with eight gates at Boeing, which is known officially as King County International Airport.

Once Alaska entered the fray, county officials decided to scrap the whole idea of considering the alternative location.

Southwest has said that operations at Sea-Tac are among the most expensive in the airline's system, which prompted the proposal to move to the alternative airport.

Richard N. Velotta covers tourism for In Business Las Vegas and its sister publication, the Las Vegas Sun. He can be reached at (702) 259-4061 or by e-mail at velotta@lasvegassun.com.