Originally Posted by
HomerJay
America West had a dual hub - with more daytime focus on PHX and more nighttime focus on LAS. If, for example, you were flying from DCA to LAX in the evening, you could leave DCA around 830pm, arrive at LAS at 11pm, toss some quarters in the slots in the terminal (which had awful payback rates), and catch a midnight flight to LAX. That terminal was hopping between 11pm and 130am.
This was a great strategy for increasing utilization of a small fleet of planes in the 80's and 90's. Plus, as others have mentioned, LAS was the major center of gaming at that time.
In essence, US moved that late night hub to PHX, but only during peak times (summer peak days and holiday peak travel days). US operated it pretty much all summer, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. Now, AA still operated a late night bank during peak periods, but not as frequently as US.