We regret to inform you that the answer is no.
Blimp rides were available in Las Vegas for ten months in 2000. The airship was part of the Lightship Group's fleet and was operated by Vegas.com. Tickets started at $179 but the venture was shortlived, ceasing operations in December of that year, so you just squeaked in under the radar with your October trip.
Despite all the modern technology used in today's blimps, they're just not cost effective for recreational passenger-carrying and so are now consigned to the realm of advertising purposes, which brings us to what you probably saw back in March of this year. You have uncanny timing because, once again, you only just got to catch the M Resort airship in action.
This new 178-foot-long vessel was contracted by Anthony Marnell, owner of the M Resort, who enlisted it as part of the property's launch campaign. At 70 by 30 feet, it sported the world's largest TV screen on the side and its sole purpose while here was to advertise the resort. It traveled nightly in five to six hour spurts at an altitude of between 100 and 1,000 feet over the desert and city, promoting the new resort and its amenities. Click here for a video and blimp-eyed view of Las Vegas.
Initially, it was promoted as being an ongoing attraction, with plans to house the blimp on land adjacent to the property and offer tours to the public and meet and greets with the captain and crew. However, with running costs of approximately $3,000 per day, which included a ground crew of 10-15 people, plus captain and co-pilot, plus fuel and helium, it was an expensive proposition and once the resort was up and running and the initial contract was up, Marnell decided against renewing. Hence, on March 31 of this year, the M Lightship took its final Vegas flight before returning to The Lightship Group's headquarters in Orlando, Fla.
For those of you interested in getting an aerial view of the Strip, we do have a couple of interesting suggestions, however. A company called Cloud Nine is in the process of testing the world's largest helium balloon, which is tethered at the south end of the Strip across from Mandalay Bay. Currently in the testing stage, it's due to launch for public rides on October 8 and, at $22.50 per person in the daytime and $27.50 at night for adults (children receive a discount), it's a little more affordable than the airship was.
The Cloud Nine balloon will be able to carry up to 30 passengers in a "customized gondola" that will offer guests a 360-degree view of Las Vegas from nearly 500 feet in the air. The standard "flight" will be 10 minutes, but there are plans to make it available for bachelor/bachelorette parties, weddings, etc. as well as corporate and special-event packages.
Alternatively, you could try the Dinner in the Sky option. This aerial dining concept was launched two-and-a-half years ago in Belgium and Las Vegas was the twenty-fourth city to get a crane-operated gourmet-dining experience. The table, which is suspended at a height of 160-180 feet, accommodates up to 22 guests and three staff (chef, waiter, and "entertainer").
The company debuted the Dinner in the Sky here last New Year's Eve at the intersection of Polaris Ave and Cavaretta Ct., just west of the Strip near the Palms and the Rio, including airlifting some of Las Vegas' most famous chefs for a publicity shoot.
There were then plans for a permanent home on the southeast portion of the space previously occupied by the New Frontier, but those were nixed by the Clark County Commission when both Boyd Gaming and Wynn Resorts balked at the prospect of diners dangling high above Echelon and Wynn Las Vegas (although now and for the foreseeable future, of course, anything to do with Echelon is moot).
However, a new home was found on West Sahara, opposite Palace Station, which they assured us affords panoramic views of all four corners of the Vegas valley. Dinner in the Sky is now served twice nightly on Fridays and Saturdays at approximately 6:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. (times vary according to sunset), with the first seating costing $169 per person, which includes dessert. The second seating is two courses only for $199. For more information click here.
