Comments on: Clipper Conclusion: The Fall of Pan Am, 30 Years Later

By: Doug Z

Doug Z — Wed, 22 Dec 2021 00:51:49 +0000

The Pan Am logo was also featured in the background of the skyline advertising in “Blade Runner.”

By: Mitch

Mitch — Thu, 16 Dec 2021 06:06:14 +0000

Mr Wattengel,your comment is not correct. Just before deregulation, Pan Am wasted a lot of $$$ buying National airlines for their domestic routes, only to discover they would have had free entry to those routes had they only waited a few years.
My last flight on Pan Am was JFK-MIA on a then-new 1011-500 Tristar circa 1983. That same airplane was used on long routes like SEA-LHR, yet it was 10-abreast in economy – incredibly tight and narrow seats.
Among Pan Am’s (and TWA’s)many fatal errors was overloading themselves with too many 747-100s and keeping them too long. United and Northwest upgraded to longer-range 747-200’s and all-new 747-400s to stay competitive with European and Asian airlines while Pan Am and TWA had dozens of old 747-100’s – including European and Asian castoffs.

By: Ira

Ira — Sat, 11 Dec 2021 22:51:54 +0000

I’ll never forget Pan Am – my first international flight was from Baltimore-Washington to London on Pan Am in 1973, and it opened the world to me like a pearl in an oyster. I flew Pan Am often from 1986 through its end from Washington Dulles to Europe (Frankfurt), as I worked for the U.S. Government and we had to “Fly America.” Both IAD and the flights were mostly empty, and I could stretch out over the 4 seat middle row economy on the overnite flights. However, usually on the way back home, our local U.S. Embassy could call Pan Am and get us upgraded to business class pretty routinely. I remember flying back home on Pan Am from Stockolm to JFK I think in 1989 in business class and laughing almost out loud watching “When Harry Met Sally.” Its hard to believe that the last row of the business class section was smoking and so the entire small business class cabin absolutely stank of cigarette smoke – you had to dry clean everything when you got home. But Pan Am still seemed classy even if it was deteriorating. I also remember fluing the Pan Am Shuttle from DC to LaGuardia and had James Schlesinger, Dan Rather and other luminaries sitting by me. What a bygone time…..

By: Edward B Furey

Edward B Furey — Wed, 08 Dec 2021 14:23:53 +0000

Pan Am (and TWA) are among the small number of companies whose demise prompted the creation of museums dedicated to their memory. The Pan Am museum is located at the Cradle of Aviation Museum on Long Island (in Garden City, in the former hangars of Mitchel Field). It is loaded with artifacts, models of Pan Am aircraft (you can find out the cost of the first transatlantic Boeing 314 flights from NY to Southampton from the actual schedule) and films depicting the company’s highlights.

My own experience with Pan Am was limited to shuttle service near the end of the line, although on a trip to Disney World on Carnival Airlines (a branch of the cruise ship company) a couple of years after Pan Am folded, I noticed the seat belt buckles on our 727 had an engraved Pan Am logo.

By: Lee Serlin Taplinger

Lee Serlin Taplinger — Tue, 07 Dec 2021 21:06:18 +0000

Your third photo down shows a 747 with an unpainted underside livery. Too bad unpainted skin has fallen out of favor – it looks great, saves money and saves fuel. It makes a great contrast to whatever livery an airline chooses.

Finding a beautiful livery now is difficult but if you want to see hundreds of disasters just look at police car liveries. Apparently chosen by law enforcement people with no skill or training in graphics, they range from 70s disco crap to just plain horrible. As a final highlight they often go for black rims and black wall tires, no alloy wheels and no wheel covers. I can see opting out of alloy wheels, but saving a few stingy dollars on wheel covers when their department is represented to the public by their vehicles?

By: David A. Ferlauto

David A. Ferlauto — Tue, 07 Dec 2021 13:37:30 +0000

Fondest memories… taking the helicopter from the roof of the PanAm building to what was then called Idewild (JFK)

By: Richard Lee Rees

Richard Lee Rees — Tue, 07 Dec 2021 04:10:13 +0000

Hello Patrick,
You might find this interesting aside about the demise of an old friend. I grew up in Tokyo and my father was intimately involved with Pan Am in a number of ways, but that’s for another day. As a result we flew on Pan Am regularly and as a young teenager, I was privileged to score a ride in the cockpit of a Pan Am 707 from Hong Kong Kaitak to Bangkok, Thailand (circa 1960), I was hooked.
Fast forward to many years later when in 1990 I was the co-pilot as part of a contract ferry crew on the last Pan Am 747, N747PA the Clipper Juan T Trippe. We left a very sad group of around a thousand Pan Am employees on the ramp at the JFK Hanger and flew out West to the boneyard at San Bernardino California. There is a bit more to this anecdote that I won’t bore you with, but it was a very bitter sweet flight for me, one I don’t look back too fondly on but can’t erase from my memory.

By: Kenneth Smith

Kenneth Smith — Tue, 07 Dec 2021 04:05:16 +0000

I traveled on Pan Am from SFO or LAX to SYD many times in the 80s, business class (roughly a $15K ticket at the time). I was usually treated as an inconvenience by both the ground and air staff, who gave off an air of condescension and dismal service. I was happy when United bought the routes. United, with all its many flaws was a huge step up in quality over Pan Am. Pan Am deserved its ignominious end.

By: CAMERON W BECK

CAMERON W BECK — Mon, 06 Dec 2021 23:34:07 +0000

Juan Trippe was a visionary, no doubt. But sometimes even visionaries lose sight of The Big Picture.

I recall a sweltering July night aboard a delayed Pan Am 707 at JFK. After well over an hour sitting with sweat literally pouring off us in rivers, the flight finally took off for London. The Flight Attendants apologized profusely for our horrible discomfort.

:Only later did I discover that our visionary Mr. Trippe had decided NOT to buy the ground air-conditioning carts for his fleet of brand-new 707s. What was that man thinking?

Another strange note. I often ride Amtrak’s Downeaster train between Boston and Portland, Maine. A lovely tho overly long (2hr 48 min) trip. There’s a large switching yard somewhere along the line. I was startled to see blue locomotives adorned with the unmistakeable Pan Am logo! Apparently the freight train line bought the rights to use it. Strange to see it, once on sleek aircraft, now on huge, earth-bound locos. And rather grubbed up with diesel stains, too. How the mighty had fallen.

By: Kozmo

Kozmo — Mon, 06 Dec 2021 22:23:16 +0000

This is sad. I never had the chance to fly Pan Am. I feel cheated. They had a nice logo and livery, too.