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PAN AM – WHEN FLYING WAS FIRST CLASS

October 13, 2011 By Michael L. Grace Leave a Comment

The new TV Series PAN AM takes you back to a time when flying was fun, and not like the nightmare one experiences today.

PAN AM – WHEN FLYING WAS FIRST CLASS

Like its iconic stewardesses, Pan Am had beauty and brains; they were the first carrier to adopt Boeing’s 747, revolutionized radio communication and emergency equipment, and broke records with a New York to New York ’round-the-world trip.

Cabin crew taken aboard Jet by captain during 1960s.

The fate of Pan Am, of course, was not a glamorous one with route monopoly problems and bankruptcy grounding flights permanently in December of 1991. For a few short decades, though, the pilots and their girls in blue were celebs in their own right, almost invincible, changing the way we would forever think about air travel, even inspiring a brand-new tv show 20 years later. But what was life really like in the friendly skies?

From the 1920′s until its demise in 1991, Pan American Airlines symbolized all that was luxurious in air travel. Elite fliers packed some of the first commercial use jumbo jets and were treated to delicious rounds of meals served by bright and beautiful girls in couture uniforms. Celebrities, businessmen and “Rainbow Class” alike jetted-off to far-flung vacation spots across the globe on this mega airline, the US’s first International carrier.
Like its iconic stewardesses, Pan Am had beauty and brains; they were the first carrier to adopt Boeing’s 747, revolutionized radio communication and emergency equipment, and broke records with a New York to New York ’round-the-world trip.

Social and Travel History… PAN AM… White-Glove Service

More than years ago, flying had a certain glamour: the luxurious seats, the doting (and beautiful) flight attendants, the gourmet meals… Today, most of the majesty of commercial air travel has been scrapped thanks to cutbacks and tight security. Miss the old days? We look back at what it used to mean to fly commercially.

Pictured: In 1968, a Pan Am flight attendant embraces and Aeroflot Stewardess before their first transatlantic flights from New York to Moscow.

LIFE photos featuring the glamour of air travel in the 1950s and 1960s… When passengers didn’t travel in cargo pants and t-shirts…

Pan American Airways System Sikorsky S-42B flying boat over Miami in the 1930s…

Interior of S-42B Sikorsky – wide aisle – two seats on either side. While the S-42B service was for but a brief time it demonstrated the type of passenger service Pan Am would offer in the future – from the DC-3 DC-4 – DC-6 – Boeing 377Strato-Cruiser – and the Boeing 707 Jet aircraft until the service was suspended in 1957 – every aspect of the service was First Class.

Pan American Airways System in flight food service aboard a S-42B Sikorsky.

Filed Under: Air Ship, SOCIAL HISTORY, STEAMSHIP LINES Tagged With: 1920s, 1950s, air travel, airline travel, atlantic, cbs pan am history, Cruise History, CRUISE LINE HISTORY, cruise ship history, CRUISE SHIPS, cruising the past, CUNARD LINE, FIRST CLASS AIR TRAVEL, FRENCH LINE, HOLLAND AMERICA LINE, MATSON LINES, New York, PAN AM, pan am stewardess, retro, RMS TITANIC, Steamships, Stewardesses, Titanic

The 747 is 40 Years Old Today. Cruising the Past celebrates the 40th Anniversary of the first commercial flight of a Boeing 747 aircraft. It was flown by Pan Am between New York and London.

January 22, 2010 By Michael L. Grace Leave a Comment

Airline History: The 747 is 40 Years Old Today. The flight was scheduled for Jan 21, 1970 but departed late on Jan 22. Cruising the Past celebrates the 40th Anniversary of the first commercial flight of a Boeing 747 aircraft. It was flown by Pan Am between New York and London.

A PAN AM 747 TV commercial.

(Left: Pan Am stewardesses posing at foot of stairs leading to the upper 747 First Class lounge.) Whichever way you look at it, the Boeing 747′s legacy is remarkable. Probably the most recognisable airliner other than Concorde, not only is the Jumbo Jet still the world’s best-selling widebody, and the longest-running airliner production program after the 737, but it was also a key contributor to bringing air travel to the masses. And until the Airbus A380′s arrival two years ago – an aircraft regarded by some as the 747′s spiritual successor – it was the largest airliner flying.

The origins of the 747 are rather infamous. The creation of the airplane reportedly all started from this simple note in 1965:

Dear Mr Boeing,
Please build us a very big aeroplane soon. If it is pretty as well that will be a bonus. We will buy lots of them.
Yours sincerely,
Pan Am

Piano Bar entertainment was featured on many flights.

When it comes to the Swine Flu pandemic here is a great Princess Cruise Lines ad proving the point tourists should stick to ships and avoid jets.

September 13, 2009 By Michael L. Grace Leave a Comment

Princess Cruises excellent and rather cynical television ad (click on arrow) reminds everyone what we already know about the horrors of air travel as compared to sailing aboard a ship.

The Pullman Company use to have the greatest safety record and so did such venerable companies such as the Santa Fe Railway. Today, rail travel in America is not a great alternative because it is not safe compared to the past. Amtrak has accidents annually. Imagine commuting by train in Los Angeles and Southern California with Metrolink engineers sending text messages when they should be driving the train. The only safe way to travel still seems to be by ship and Princess Cruises proves the point dramatically in their excellent video ad.