Aviation Archive - Issue 77 RAF Transports Since 1940 - December 2024

Founded by the legendary Juan Trippe, Pan American World Airways (Pan Am) was the first airline to fly worldwide and pioneered many international routes, particularly across the Pacific. Born in Key West, Florida, Pan Am expanded to serve most of Latin America and Asia as well as some domestic routes in Europe and even flew a helicopter shuttle in some major cities.

Its logo became one of the most recognisable in the world and its headquarters one of New York City's landmarks. Pan Am was a byword for luxury and innovation from the Stratuiser to the 747. Unfortunately, beginning in the 1970s, deregulation, debt and disasters harmed the bottom line and the great airline folded in 1991. Attempts to revive the brand have met with limited success.

Pan Am 1927-1991, No 71 in the Aviation Archive series, tells the story of Pan Am from the golden age of the great flying boats through the war years and the jet age until its final decline in the 1980s.