Las Vegas Sands Jet Tab takes off, ranks No. 2 among S&P 500 companies
Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE: LVS ) spent $3.2 million on senior executive business travel in 2022, the second-highest amount among all S&P 500 companies.
The largest casino operator by market value spent $3.2 million on the perk in 2022, according to the Wall Street Journal, slightly less than Facebook parent Meta Platforms (NASDAQ: META) spent on the perk half of the $6.6 million.
Sands had a market capitalization of $36.95 billion as of Tuesday's U.S. close, suggesting private air travel spending has little impact on the company's overall value.
S&P 500 companies spent $65 million on corporate flights for C-suite executives in 2022, nearly double the corresponding $33.8 million spent in 2021. Put another way: Las Vegas Sands will account for about 5% of all private air tickets among S&P 500 companies in 2022.
Sands private jet consumption soars
Sands has $3.2 million earmarked for private air travel in 2022, four times the $800,000 the company spent the previous year.
In the casino business, it's par for the course for companies to invest in private jets to fly "whale" players to Las Vegas or other locations. This is just an industry agreement.
What's happening with Sands is that the company no longer owns any U.S. real estate. However, there are rumors that the company is interested in bringing integrated resorts to Florida, New York and Texas. Additionally, the operator's current casino hotel roster only includes Marina Bay Sands in Singapore and five casinos in Macau. Executions in Nevada may target these Asia Pacific properties at different times of the year.
Private jet travel is a perk included in more comprehensive compensation packages for senior executives such as CEOs and CFOs. This is often seen as an efficiency issue, and one that many companies, including Sands, can afford.
According to LunaJets, the purchase price of a private jet ranges from $2 million to $100 million, with annual maintenance costs ranging from $500,000 to $1 million. This does not include flights, which can cost between $1,100 and $2,700 per hour depending on the size of the aircraft.
LunaJets cited other costs, including hangar rentals of up to $3,000 per month and pilot salaries of $86,000 to $300,000 per year, depending on experience.
Expect more business travel, not less
Data suggests business jet traffic has increased since the coronavirus pandemic, with numbers in 2023 likely to surpass 2022.
While Las Vegas Sands spends the most on private jet travel among S&P 500 gaming companies, it is not the only company in the industry to incur such expenses.
While some compensation critics and investors decried the payout, some companies argue the costs are necessary to reduce lost time and provide executives with more security.
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Source: www.casino.org
