MGM Grand Air Adds 3 DC-8s to Luxury Service

MGM Grand Air has opened a little more room at the top of the luxury flying experience.

The company announced Tuesday that it is adding three reconfigured DC-8s to its fleet, enabling it to more than double passenger capacity between Los Angeles and New York. The airliner also hopes to use the planes for nonstop international flights in the future.

MGM Grand Air, which offers only first-class service, is known for its super-luxurious amenities. Passengers in extra-wide seats dine on gourmet food served on fine china with silver cutlery and have access to private staterooms, a stand-up bar and a fax machine.

The DC-8s, the cabins of which are being specially designed for 81 passengers, will replace MGM Grand Air’s three 33-passenger Boeing 727s on regularly scheduled coast-to-coast flights starting in August.

After that, the 727s will be used solely for charter flights.

MGM Grand Air President Charles L. Demoney said the demand for the carrier’s $1,017 one-way flights has increased in recent months. The company’s four daily flights, which are largely occupied by top corporate executives and celebrities, are running at an average of 75% capacity.

“We are improving upon what today is the best air service available,” Demoney said at a Los Angeles news conference. “Converting our scheduled coast-to-coast trips to larger and more luxurious aircraft is the natural next step in providing the ultimate in first-class travel.”

The company also plans to step up its cargo service on those flights.

MGM Grand Air is spending $55.5 million on the acquisition and refurbishment of the three DC-8s, which comes to $162,000 per seat. The planes, which will be equipped with state-of-the-art noise reduction equipment, are capable of flying 6,000 miles without refueling.

Demoney said MGM Grand Air chose the DC-8, which went out of production at McDonnell Douglas in 1972, for its distance capabilities and its past performance. Walt Gillfillan, a Berkeley-based transportation consultant, said the planes also make sense economically.

“It’s substantially less costly than trying to buy a new aircraft,” Gillfillan said. “Plus, there are trained crews available for that airplane, and since they are not a large carrier, they are dependent on trained crews from other sources.”

MGM Grand Air, a subsidiary of financier Kirk Kerkorian’s MGM Grand Inc., has been in business for more than two years. The airline had an operating profit of $360,000 last year.