It’s always interesting to see what is at the Sands ramp at McCarran. The flight of luxury jets for bringing in the high rollers to play at the casino is a mix of types. Some “normal” Gulfstream, an A340-500 and the Boeing 747SP. I was delighted to see that two SPs were parked up on the ramp the morning I was there. Seeing them move was a bit much to ask but getting them in some lovely light immediately after sunrise was a good alternative.
The casino business is obviously a bit of a money-spinner (well, for almost everyone who owns a casino!). In Las Vegas, the casinos put a lot of effort in to keeping their big money players happy. Sands has a fleet of aircraft that they use for moving these clients to and from their operations. Big jets are a part of this. They seem to focus on jets that can be customized nicely but aren’t terribly high on the acquisition cost scale. The two that I was most interested in were the Boeing 747SP and the Airbus A340-500. Both of these are cool looking jets as far as I am concerned and the Sands livery suits them well. Sadly, I have not been around when either of them flew but I have seen some great shots of them airborne.