Adelson’s plane fleet both a joy, strategy

DURING one of my first meetings with Sheldon Adelson, something caught my eye: a pair of gleaming airplane models on display in his office conference room at The Venetian.

One was a model of a Boeing 747SP, and the other was an Airbus A340-500. Both had the distinctive colors of Sands Aviation: the dark-blue underside of the fuselage and trailing gold, dark-blue and light-blue stripes, the blue tones trailing up the vertical stabilizer.

Adelson, the chairman and CEO of Las Vegas Sands Corp., could tell I was mesmerized by the models, and with a sparkle in his eye he initiated a conversation between two aviation geeks.

He excitedly told me how nice his newest addition was, detailing the interior and the range of the Airbus. He said one of these days, I would have to see it.

“It’s a beauty,” he said with a smile.

It was a side of Adelson most people don’t get to see, but it was clear there was a special place in his heart for his fleet of 19 corporate jets.

Adelson died Monday from complications related to treatment for non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

Much has been written about Adelson’s visionary decision to purchase the legendary Sands hotel-casino on the Strip, build the Sands Expo and Convention Center adjacent to the property, then implode the hotel to make way for The Venetian. The integrated resort allowed thousands of guests to converge for business events during the day and enjoy the sights, sounds and flavors of Las Vegas when the meetings were done. Conventions became central to Las Vegas’ business model.

‘A big hit’

Less is known about Adelson’s innovation in the use of private jets, which he used to transport the company’s best