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Ranking high on most peoples’ annoyance meter: finding the rideshare pickup area at the airport. This was no problem today, since I could hear the thumping beats of a remixed Janet Jackson’s “Together Again” from two parking lot floors away. Arriving was a full-fledged party, with DJ Ana Calderon turning up the energy in a corner next to a neon “Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas” sign and people taking selfies under rotating disco balls and in front of mirrored panels in the purple-lit atmosphere of the formerly utilitarian Terminal 1, Floor 2 rideshare pickup area. Showgirls in towering purple headdresses sashayed around. A little spontaneous dancing broke out among a bachelorette party arriving from Austin.
🤩 Are you taking a photo?
You never know! This is the airport, after all. I parked myself at one of the entrances and counted eight bewildered “Is this rideshare?” questions in five minutes. “I was confused, because I thought this was some kind of party, but then I was like, ‘In the Uber line?’” said traveler Jen Gardener, arriving from Pasco, Washington. She wasn’t wrong: the shimmying showgirls and people pushing beverage carts with free water bottles didn’t feel like a rideshare area. The launch was timed to coincide with a big weekend that includes the Canelo Alvarez and Terence Crawford fight at Allegiant Stadium and the Raiders vs. Chargers game on Monday.
You’ll catch various activations in this venue on weekends (we do take breaks here sometimes). The good news is that the photo ops stay, as well as all the new places to sit. Several comfy round seats dot the pickup area (Some furniture trivia: they’re a contemporary, purple version of the 19th-century “borne settee,” a circular sofa with a conical central backrest). And I found the one that was in the direct path of one of the powerful fans; on 90-degree-plus days, I suggest you do, too.
The lounge is planned to stay for at least another six months. The easy-to-navigate layout makes it simple for visitors to meet up and find their ride, and this area is always staffed by helpful airport employees who keep the process moving. Now you can say you’ve arrived even before you get to the Strip.
