For most of us, whenever we travel by plane, we fly on commercial airlines, sit in cramped coach seats (possibly with a small, whiny child kicking the seat behind us), are subject to the whims of airport delays, and are usually lucky to get anything to eat beyond a tiny bag of pretzels or peanuts.  That is not how the Dallas Stars travel, especially not after owner Tom Hicks just upgraded their private plane from a 727 to a new Boeing 757 twin-engine jetliner.  The Stars took the inaugural flight on the new plane when they lifted off Tuesday afternoon from Love Field for a trip to Los Angeles ahead of their date Thursday night against the Kings (9:30 pm, my27, News/Talk 820 WBAP).

It can accommodate up to 71 total passengers, includes 24 fully-reclining, 360-degree swiveling sleeper seats for the players, and has 47 other first-class seats located in three other sections throughout the plane.  The new 757, which will be utilized by both the Stars and the Texas Rangers baseball team, also features an upgraded video entertainment system and an iPod docking station that allows passengers to play movies from a lap-top, iPod or DVD player in each section.  There are also two electrical outlets and phone jacks at each seat, a bar in the back, as well as a comfortable four-seat couch.

For a team that will fly approximately 112 total hours in the air over the course of the regular season and which will have 16 flights where the club returns to Dallas immediately after a night game, traveling in such luxurious conditions can only help.

“I think that, certainly with the travel that we do, that any advantage that we give our players is going to benefit us in the long term,” said Stars General Manager Doug Armstrong.  “We probably travel more than anyone in the NHL right now, and to have a plane like this and to have the seating where the players can recline, it’s going to really enhance our travel and make things a lot better for us.  And I think there will be a competitive advantage, not only to our team, but also in acquiring free agents.”

“It’s great,” added center Mike Modano. “It’s just getting rest and being able to get from point A to point B as easy as possible, it doesn’t come easier than this. Comfort, ability to spread out, you’re not packed in on each other, it helps. Our travel’s not the best here, so however we can get the upper hand here, it helps.”

While the advantage of more comfortable accommodations might not be felt immediately, the players believe it will help and might possibly translate into better performance on the ice at some point.

“It’s tough to put down in x’s and o’s and say yes or no, but it won’t hurt,” goaltender Marty Turco said. “It certainly won’t hurt our chances of feeling better when we get there.  It’s a luxury that we have had before, traveling as well as we do, but this just kind of sets precedent for pro sports teams to give us every advantage possible, when you have an owner like Mr. Hicks, who does what he can, it just makes you feel good and lets you worry about less things and concentrate more on what we do.”

“Especially with us, we have so much travel because of our division, it adds practice time, it adds time that other teams have without the same travel, so any time we can keep the players fresh, it’s wonderful,” coach Dave Tippett noted. “It’s a beautiful plane. It makes everything a lot easier to travel. We’re very fortunate to have an owner that believes that he wants to do everything possible for the players to give them the best opportunity to be successful, so it’s a wonderful little perk for us.”

While the Stars did fly pretty nicely before, the upgrade from a 727 to a 757 gives them better fuel efficiency and lower noise levels (inside the plane and out), and allows for longer individual flights (from a maximum 2500 miles to 4000 miles). Also, the 727 could only hold up to 54 passengers, while their limit is now 71, something that made possible the extra wrinkle on Tuesday where the players’ wives joined them on the trip to LA.

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