Northwest Airlines, Madison’s largest air carrier, announced new non-stop service to Las Vegas yesterday. This service competes with an existing non-stop route flown by Allegiant Airlines. The major airlines have often used this tactic to drive low fare competitors from the market. Northwest flies several non-stop routes from Milwaukee that compete with local favorite Midwest Airlines. These flights are unusual in that they do not require connections on NW’s Minneapolis, Detroit or Memphis fortress hubs.