Few companies have ever attained the international prestige, excellence and the sheer excitement Pan American Airways brought from, and to the United States of America.

My mother worked for the company for decades, so from an early age I was fortunate enough to have flown extensively on Pan Am’s Clipper Fleet in their heyday. The graciousness of these early days of commercial jet flight has never been equaled. The slogan “The World’s Most Experienced Airline” was in fact true!

Flight Attendants (Stewardesses to those of a certain age…) in the golden years were not only well educated and beautifully groomed, but highly talented as well. For those who have ever experienced Pan American’s First Class dining, there will never be another Caviar Bar like it in flight (or on the surface). An elegant presentation, complete with the requisite chopped eggs, chopped onions and iced vodka. Cuisine on Pan Am flights was inspired by Maxim’s of Paris, so no surprise it was relished by all passengers. Even those flying in steerage were given a selection of generous and tasty meals.

The portrayal on TV of those beautiful (if a tad vacuous) young things is not completely accurate, although one can be forgiven for recall through rose colored glasses. We have never seen a Pan Am pilot without graying hair – or a flight attendant who didn’t know the difference between “à Point” or medium rare to a Beef Wellington. It was on Pan Am that I first learned to put ground pepper on fresh strawberries, and elegantly peel an apple with a knife and fork!

As to the modern portrayal of the World Port in the new TV series, no justice is done to the original building which was both magical in design and functioned beautifully for the airline traffic of its day. To see what Delta Airlines has done to this magnificent work of industrial architecture brings tears to the eyes. The original building was encircled by 12 monumental bronze renderings of the Zodiac. Does anyone know where they went? Nowadays they have been replaced by many layers of grime and concrete patches.
Ugghhh.

Always on the leading edge, Pan Am was flying high. But what goes up must come down, sadly.

The meteoric rise of Pan American was slowed significantly when the government deregulation forced them to share the international routes they had spent many years and so much money developing. Seems like sharing would not be such a bad thing, but it was the beginning of the end for the carrier. Pan Am had no domestic feeder routes to its hubs in New York, Miami and LAX and so the long and painful demise of the airline had begun. The agony continued until the last vulture, which happened to be Delta Airlines, picked it clean to the bone. In the end they were never able to capture the spirit and influence of Pan Am even when they took over the routes, the Worldport or Pan Am’s phone number.

Brief pre-history:
Founder and creator Juan Trippe initiated "The Aviation Company of the Americas" in 1927 along with two other entities to form a mail delivery between the USA and Cuba. Juan Trippe alone had the vision and foresight to introduce the first passenger service between Key West and Havana on what was basically a seaplane.

In 1928 Juan Trippe created a secondary company within the organization called "Pan American Airways Incorporated" which went on to develop and expand routes throughout Central and South America, the North Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. One success led to another. Pan American was the original pioneer of international air transport and for a while the most prestigious air carrier the world has ever known.

Juan Trippe commissioned and designed brilliant state of the art aircraft for Pan American and the airline was a charter customer for the Boeing 747. The company became the proud face of American know how and superiority, and opened the world for business and tourism on a level that most people could afford.

Thanks for the memories Pan Am. We will never forget you.

For more information contact Alexandra at 804-346-8714 or click here to enquire.