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The Pan Am Podcast — Aviation
The Pan Am Podcast

Experience the legacy of the world’s most iconic airline, Pan American World Airways! This award-winning history and humanities program brings Pan Am’s 64-year history to life through engaging storytelling and insightful interviews from Pan Am employees, passengers, pilots, journalists, historians, authors, fashionistas, and aviation enthusiasts! Hosted by historian Tom Betti, the program has won the following awards: Gold 2024 & 2023 Muse Creative Awards; Gold 2024 Vega Digital Award; Silver 2023 Vega Digital Award; Gold Award from the 2023 Hear Now Palooza of the National Audio Theater Festivals; Silver 2022 Muse Creative Award; Arcturus 2022 Vega Digital Award (Podcast); and Arcturus 2022 Vega Digital Award (Best Host). The Pan Am Podcast is brought to you by the Pan Am Museum in Garden City, New York and is sponsored by the generous personal support of Mr. Adam Aron, CEO of AMC Theatres and President of the Pan Am Historical Foundation. The Pan Am Museum Foundation is a non-profit 501(c)3 organization and would appreciate your consideration of tax-deductible donations.

Copyright: © 2023 Pan Am Museum Foundation

Latest Episodes:

Episode 50: Kathleen Clair, Juan T. Trippe's Executive Assistant for 32 Years (1948-1980) Sep 07, 2024

In this episode we explore the life of Kathleen Clair, executive assistant to Pan Am founder and chairman Juan T. Trippe for over 32 years from 1948 to 1980. We will also hear a personal and private memories of Mr. Trippe and Kathleen.
We are joined by two special guests that knew Kathleen well: Wendy Trippe Barr, the granddaughter of Juan and Betty Trippe and John Luetich, a board member of the Pan Am Museum Foundation, Museum Curator, and the son of Mary Luetich who worked with Kathleen for many years in the Pan Am Building.
Both guests remember Kathleen at an early age and will share their intimate perspectives on this incredible woman.

After the airline ceased operations in 1991, Kathleen worked tirelessly to preserve Pan Am history and was a founding member of the Pan Am Historical Foundation and worked with Juan Trippe’s sons, Charlie and Ed, to preserve Pan Am’s historic contributions to the history of flight.
Several audio clips from an oral history interview of Kathleen recorded in 2003 are used in this episode. A special thank you to the Pan Am Historical Foundation for allowing us to use these recordings for this program. Another special thank you to our high school intern Michael Genter for his help in organizing the audio clips.
Kathleen Clair was born on December 12, 1918 to her parents Ted and Kit Clair and would later become the devoted older sister of Phyllis and Donald. She graduated from high school in Englewood, NJ, in 1936 and then went on to the prestigious Katherine Gibbs School for women in 1937.
After graduation, she stayed in Manhattan and spent the next 11 years as a secretary at various jobs. One of the many gifts of Kathleen that become invaluable in her career was her photographic memory. She remembered everything to the finest detail with instant recall.
In late 1948, she applied for a job at the corporate offices of Pan Am, then in the iconic Chrysler Building. She was hired and worked for Mr. Trippe for 32 years until her retirement in 1980.
In December of 2018, Kathleen celebrated her 100th birthday with family, friends and many Pan Am colleagues. A little over a month later, Kathleen M. Clair died peacefully on January 26, 2019, after 100 years of engaging life on her own terms.
She is missed by her large extended family, the Trippe family, colleagues from Pan Am and the larger aviation community, and friends from her long and well-lived life.

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A very special thanks to Mr. Adam Aron, Chairman and CEO of AMC and president of the Pan Am Historical Foundation and Pan Am Brands for their continued and unwavering support!

Episode 49: Edith Head, A Hollywood Legend Jul 21, 2024

In this episode we explore the life of legendary Hollywood costume designer Edith Head who designed uniforms for Pan American World Airways introduced in 1975 and used until the early 1980s.

Then we will be joined by actor Susan Claassen who plays the Hollywood legend in her one-woman production called A CONVERSATION WITH EDITH HEAD.
In her storied career in Hollywood, Edith Head won a record eight Academy Awards for Best Costume Design between 1949 and 1973, making her the most awarded woman in the Academy's history. She is considered to be one of the greatest and most influential costume designers in film history.
Actor Susan Claassen is celebrating her 49th anniversary with Tucson’s Invisible Theatre. As Managing Artistic Director (now emeritus), she has produced and directed over 500 productions.
She was nominated for the 2011 LA Stage Alliance Ovation Award and BroadwayWorld LA Award as Best Actress for her portrayal of Edith Head in A CONVERSATION WITH EDITH HEAD and most recently, nominated for The San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle 43rd Annual Excellence in Theatre Awards for Best Solo Production and Best Production.

A CONVERSATION WITH EDITH HEAD premiered at the Invisible Theatre in 2002 in Tucson, Arizona and has played coast to coast with more than 700 performances.

The production has toured internationally to the Republic of Georgia; a “Sold Out” engagement at the 2007 Edinburgh Festival Fringe, Toronto and an acclaimed five-week run at the Leicester Square Theatre in London’s West End.

Susan has also been a clown in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade since 2001. She dedicates her performance to the vibrant memory of her beloved mother, Goldie.

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A very special thanks to Mr. Adam Aron, Chairman and CEO of AMC and president of the Pan Am Historical Foundation and Pan Am Brands for their continued and unwavering support!

Episode 48: The Archer's...A Family of Aviators Jul 07, 2024

In this episode we celebrate the Archer’s...a family of aviators.

89-year-old Pan Am Captain Stu Archer joined the airline in 1965 as an engineer after serving in the U.S. Air Force. Stu began flying the 727 and then was promoted to captain on the 747 and later Airbus A300 and A310. He stayed with Pan Am until 1991 and then went on to work for Delta Air Lines as a captain.

When he reached the then mandatory retirement age of 60 after three years as a Delta captain, he successful took the company to court forcing the airline to keep him as an engineer and worked for another seven years before retiring in 2000. Many credit his lawsuit as one of the reasons the mandatory age was raised to 65.

Stu credits his uncle, Lawerence Archer, as his aviation inspiration. Born in 1903, Lawerence was one of the early pilots trained by the Wright Brothers and was the first person to deliver mail by air in New England. Uncle Lawerence took Stu on his very first flight in a single engine, open air cockpit bi-wing plane when he was six years old and this forever changed the trajectory of his life.

Lawerence Archer gave his life in service to his country in 1945 during World War II serving in the U.S. Army Air Corps.

Stu’s daughter Deborah Archer joined Pan Am as a flight attendant in 1979 and worked for the airline until the end in 1991. Afterward, she hung up her wing and became a nurse. She sadly passed away in 2009.

Stu’s son, Captain Jeffery Archer followed in his father’s footsteps and became a pilot for American Airlines in 1991 and became captain in 1995.

And now his grandson, Stephen Archer, Jeffery’s son, carries on the family legacy started by his great-uncle and was recently been promoted to Captain with Envoy Air, a subsidiary of American Airlines.
All three of these captains will be joining us to talk about their passion for flying and careers in aviation.

A special thank you to American Airlines for allowing Jeff and Stephen to participate in this interview.

If you are thinking about starting a career in aviation and want to be a pilot for American Airlines, visit the AA Cadet Academy.

The Pan Am Museum also encourages you to visit the American Airlines CR Smith Museum in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. This museum is named after aviation pioneer and former President of American Airlines, Cyrus Rowlett Smith and has been open since 1993.

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A very special thanks to Mr. Adam Aron, Chairman and CEO of AMC and president of the Pan Am Historical Foundation and Pan Am Brands for their continued and unwavering support!

Episode 47: The "Nisei" Stewardesses of Pan Am May 01, 2024

The Pan Am Museum Foundation recognizes the month of May as Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Heritage Month and in this episode we explore the history of Pan Am’s “Nisei” Stewardesses with Dr. Christine R. Yano, retired professor of anthropology at the University of Hawai’I and author of the book, Airbourne Dreams: “Nisei” Stewardesses and Pan American World Airways.
This book is the story of an unusual personnel program implemented by an American corporation intent on expanding and dominating the nascent market for international air travel. That program reflected the Jet Age dreams of global mobility that excited postwar Americans, as well as the inequalities of gender, class, race, and ethnicity that constrained many of them.
The Japanese word “Nisei” means second generation Japanese American.
In 1955, Pan Am began recruiting Japanese American women to work as stewardesses on its Tokyo-bound flights and for the airline’s celebrated round-the-world flights. Based in Honolulu, these women were informally known as Pan Am’s “Nisei” stewardesses, even though not all of them were Japanese American or even second-generation. They were hired for their Japanese-language skills, but in reality…few spoke Japanese fluently.
However, the main reason for the hiring of these women was to enhance the airline’s image of exotic cosmopolitanism and worldliness as the iconic American company pioneered new frontiers of race, language, and culture. These young women left home to travel the globe with Pan Am, forging their own cosmopolitan identities in the process.
In 2014, Chantelle Rose Acorda, Kim Nguyen, and Jasmine Pigford made a well-done student film and interviewed Hawaii state senator Glenn S. Wakai and Pan Am veterans Ailenn Sodetani and Mae Takahashi.
The Japanese Cultural Center of Hawaii produced a short educational film, Pan Am Ambassadors, with interviews of Pan Am "Nisei" stewardesses.

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A very special thanks to Mr. Adam Aron, Chairman and CEO of AMC and president of the Pan Am Historical Foundation and Pan Am Brands for their continued and unwavering support!

Episode 46: Capt. Mike Bannister, Chief Pilot of British Airways Concorde Mar 14, 2024

In this episode we welcome back to the program Captain Mike Bannister, the chief pilot of British Airways' Concorde fleet from 1995 to 2003.
He is also the author of a recently published book titled Concorde. This book is available through your favorite bookstore or online retailer.
Also coming out to great fanfare in 2023 was a special Lego set of the Concorde designed to be built by adults. This special detailed replica from Lego of the world’s most famous supersonic commercial passenger airplane gives builders an immersive project that takes creativity to new heights.
To learn more about Super Sonic Transports or SSTs for short, listen to Episode 7: Supersonic Transports, An Angry JFK, and Flying the Line after this installment. In that episode we explored the race for the first passenger supersonic aircraft between a British and French partnership, the United States, and the Soviet Union.
This episode is also a direct follow up to Episode 19: Concorde where we explore the fascinating history of Concorde and interview three special guests:

Jetliner Cabins author Jennifer Coutts Clay who was Pan Am’s general manager for product design and development and before that worked on the Concorde project for British Airways.
John Lampl, a veteran executive of British Airways who worked for the Concorde program the entire 27 years of passenger service and a total of 41 years for BA.
And of course Captain Bannister was interviewed in that epsidoe. Again, if you haven’t heard

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A very special thanks to Mr. Adam Aron, Chairman and CEO of AMC and president of the Pan Am Historical Foundation and Pan Am Brands for their continued and unwavering support!

Episode 45: National Airlines Feb 20, 2024

Pan American World Airways acquired National Airlines in 1980 and preserving the history of National is now the responsibility of the Pan Am Museum and we take this duty seriously.
In this episode we explore the fascinating history of National Airlines. Then we will be joined by four veterans of National Airlines: Captain Roy Berube and flight attendants Fran Smith Boros, David Hinson, and Mari Bacon.
Captain Roy Berube was never a stranger to aviation. His father was an airline pilot and Roy began flying at an early age. He joined National Airlines as a pilot in 1956 at age 19. In his career he has been a line pilot, check pilot, instructor, test pilot, and union rep. Just before Pan Am ceased operations, Captain Berube was transferred to United Airlines mainly flying the 747. He retired from United in the late 1990s and now resides in Buffalo, New York with his wife Sharon.
His other passion other than flying is music both composing and playing. Roy is a very talented musician and even has a YouTube channel where you can hear him play!

Mari Bacon joined National Airlines in 1976 as a flight attendant. After Pan Am ceased operations, Mari hung up her wings and started a successful career in nonprofit leadership and management. Today, she resides in Fort Lauderdale and enjoys crafting, being back in Florida, watching her ‘grand dogs’ and meeting up with old friends.

She and others have organized a luncheon event every 2-3 months open to all Pan Am and National former flight attendants, who enjoy reminiscing and catching up with old friends.
David Hinson joined National Airlines in 1977 as a flight attendant. After Pan Am, he transferred to Delta Air Lines in 1991 and hung up his wings in 1997 to start his own company. That company is called David Jeffery Designs, a wholesaler and retailer of unique handbags, mobile bags, coin bags, wallets, jewelry and accessories. And he has many Pan Am items! He resides in Atlanta, Georgia and continues to travel the world, especially India.
Fran Smith Boros was born and raised in Miami and joined National Airlines in 1976 as a flight attendant. After Pan Am closed down, Fran married her attorney husband and assisted him with his legal work. She also earned her real estate license and started a new career. Today Fran and her husband are retired and live in Albuquerque, New Mexico. She’s also close personal friends and neighbors with legendary newsman Sam Donaldson and his wife. Fran helped us get an interview with Sam and we encourage you to listen to

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A very special thanks to Mr. Adam Aron, Chairman and CEO of AMC and president of the Pan Am Historical Foundation and Pan Am Brands for their continued and unwavering support!

Episode 44: Capt. Robert Ford and the Long Way Home Jan 07, 2024

In this special episode we will be exploring the incredible life of Pan Am Captain Robert Ford, a trailblazing flying boat aviator that found international fame with an unscheduled flight round the globe. And we welcome back to the program Pan Am 747 Captain John Marshall that knew Pan Am legend Captain Robert Ford and recorded an interview with him in 1994 shortly before he died.
Excerpts of this rare interview are played and you will get to hear the actual voice of Captain Ford talking about his aviation career in the late 1920s, 1930s, and 1940s!
In December of 1941, Captain Ford was ferrying mail and passengers from San Francisco to New Zealand aboard a Pan Am Boeing 314 flying boat named the Pacific Clipper.
On December 7, 1941, Japanese forces attacked Pearl Harbor and Captain Ford was ordered to evade the enemy and prevent the Japanese from capturing the aircraft for its technology. Skirting the trouble zone and watching for enemy aircraft, he headed the flying boat west over Australia, India and Central Africa, then crossed to South America, eventually making a safe landing at the Marine Terminal at what is now La Guardia Airport in New York on Jan. 6, 1942.
The entire trip covered 31,500 miles in 209.5 hours of flying time, some of it over war territory. The Clipper had a range of 4,500 miles, and its longest single flight was 3,583 miles across the South Atlantic from Central Africa, to Brazil. Captain Ford, who was then 35 at the time, called his round-the-world flight "a purely routine operation."
Born in Cambridge, Massachusetts in 1906, Captain Robert Ford earned his wings as a naval aviator before joining Pan American Airways in 1933. He flew Pan Am’s routes in Central and South American, as well as, the Caribbean before transferring to the Atlantic division in 1939, flying Clippers between New York and Lisbon. He shifted to the Pacific route in July 1941. Before his round-the-globe journey, he had completed some 50 flights across the two oceans.
After retiring in 1952 from Pan Am, Captain Ford became a cattle rancher in Penn Valley, California, north of Sacramento. He died in October of 1994 at the age of 88. At the time of his death, he had been a rancher for 45 years.
Special thanks to Captain John Marshall, board member of the Pan Am Museum Foundation, for allowing this program to use his 1994 interview with Captain Ford.

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A very special thanks to Mr. Adam Aron, Chairman and CEO of AMC and president of the Pan Am Historical Foundation and Pan Am Brands for their continued and unwavering support!

Episode 43: Terror at the Rome Airport, December 1973 Attack Dec 15, 2023

This is a special memorial edition of this program and recognizes the 50th anniversary of the Rome airport attack. We are joined by two survivors that were on a Pan Am plane that was firebombed at the Rome airport on December 17, 1973: Pan Am Flight Engineer Ken Pfrang and Pan Am passenger B.J. Geisler.
B.J. is the author of the recently published book, Terror on Pan Am Flight 110.
This episode is a follow up to "Episode 6: Hijackings and the Dawn of Global Terrorism." If you haven’t heard this episode, we encourage you to do so after listening to this installment.
In order to understand the gravity of global terrorism throughout the 1970s and 1980s, it is important to examine the 1967 six day war between Israel and neighboring Arab countries, the September 1970 hijacking of four airplanes all bound for United States, as a direct result of those hijacking…the subsequent Jordanian civil war also known as Black September(Sep. 1970- Jul. 1971), and the Munich Olympic attacks in 1972. These topics are discussed in Episode 6.
In the early afternoon of Monday, December 17, 1973 at Rome’s Leonardo Da Vinci Airport, a Pan Am Boeing 707, registration number N407PA, named Clipper Celestial was getting ready for departure with 53 passengers onboard and nine crew members.
At around 12:51 local time, five members of a radical Palestinian terrorist group pulled out weapons from their luggage in the airport terminal lounge and opened fire killing two people. They then ran out of the terminal on the tarmac and then attacked the Pan Am jet by running up the boarding stairs of the front and rear doors and threw three hand grenades inside the plane.
A total of 29 persons, including 4 senior Moroccan officials and 17 ARAMCO employees and family members were killed on the aircraft. Passenger Bonnie Presnell died later at the hospital with severe burns bringing the total killed from the attack on the Pan Am plane to 30.
We remember them…
The Pan Am Employees and Family:
Diana Perez, Purser; Lambert Tununga, Pan Am Catering; Bonnie Erbeck, wife of Captain Andrew Erbeck
Members of the Moroccan government:
Inani Abdelatif, Moroccan state secretary for economic planning; Mounlr Doukkali, Moroccan under

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A very special thanks to Mr. Adam Aron, Chairman and CEO of AMC and president of the Pan Am Historical Foundation and Pan Am Brands for their continued and unwavering support!

Episode 42: Operation Babylift: The 1975 Saigon Evacuation Nov 21, 2023

In this episode we explore Operation Babylift, the historic April 1975 evacuation of more than 3,000 Vietnamese war orphans just before the fall of South Vietnam.

We are joined by Thoa Bui, Vice President of Programs and Services for Holt International and Al Topping, Pan Am’s Country Director for South Vietnam.
This episode is a follow up to Episode 4: Evacuation of Saigon, Wings of Freedom Mission. If you haven’t heard that installment, we encourage you to do so after listening to this episode.
Operation Babylift was directed by U.S. President Gerald R. Ford in the final days of South Vietnam shortly before the country fell in 1975.
Pan American World Airways sent two Boeing 747 jumbo jets, one charted by Holt International and the other by American businessman Robert Macauley, to assist in the evacuation.
On April 24, 2022, the Pan Am Museum partnered with Holt International and hosted a 47th anniversary celebration. In attendance were two dozen babies, now adults, and their families. They were re-united with three Pan Am flight attendants on their flights and Al Topping. Bringing these groups together for this special humanities program demonstrated the massive positive impact this one historical event had on generations of people to this day. Watch the video from this incredible event in the episode description.
In future episodes we plan on exploring the stories of the children, now adults, of Operation Babylift and the Pan Am flight attendants that cared for them on those historic flights.
Become a Holt sponsor!
Thoa Bui is Licensed Master Social Worker and serves as Vice President of Programs and Services for Holt International. She implements Holt’s vision and strategic leadership to ensure growth in Holt’s programs for vulnerable children in Asia, Africa, the Caribbean, Eastern Europe, Latin America and the U.S.
Pan Am veteran Al Topping is the author of the book, “Wings of Freedom: A True Story,” about his incredible experience in Saigon. Purchase Al's book from the Museum’s online store.
In 1990, NBC made a movie out of Al’s story called Last Flight Out starring James Earl Jones, Richard Crenna, and Rosliand Chao. Watch the full movie on our YouTube channel!

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A very special thanks to Mr. Adam Aron, Chairman and CEO of AMC and president of the Pan Am Historical Foundation and Pan Am Brands for their continued and unwavering support!

Episode 41: The Stewardess Labor Movement of the 1960s and 1970s Sep 28, 2023

In this episode we are joined by Nell McShane Wulfhart, author of the book The Great Stewardess Rebellion: How Women Launched a Workplace Revolution at 30,000 Feet.
Nell is a frequent contributor to the New York Times travel section and wrote the column “Carry On” from 2016 to 2019. She has written for Travel + Leisure, Bon Appétit, Condé Nast Traveler, The Wall Street Journal Magazine, and T Magazine. She is also the author of the Audible Original Off Menu.
Her recent work, The Great Stewardess Rebellion: How Women Launched a Workplace Revolution at 30,000 Feet, is a book about how as travel in the jet age became more and more popular in the 1960s, women from across America applied for jobs as stewardesses.
They were drawn to the promise of glamour, the chance to travel, and as an alternative to traditional occupations for women of this time period like homemaking, nursing, and teaching. But as the number of stewardesses grew, so did their suspicion that the job was not as picture-perfect as the ads would have them believe, including some of their supervisors spying on their personal lives (thankfully this was not the practice of Pan Am or TWA).
These women had to adhere to strict weight limits at all times. If they gained a few extra pounds, they were suspended from work. For many airlines, stewardesses couldn’t marry or have children or risk losing their employment. Requirements for hair styles and makeup had to be followed and was strictly enforced and girdles were mandatory at all times. It was also common for most domestic airlines that stewardesses had to resign by age 32.
In the latter half of the 1960s, stewardesses began to push back against their employers creating an employment movement that changed the industry. Nell Mchane Wulfhart crafts a rousing narrative of female empowerment, the paradigm-shifting 1960s and 1970s, the labor movement, and the cadre of gutsy women who fought for their rights and won.
Gloria Steinem said of Nell’s book, “the true story of women who stood up to huge corporations and won, creating momentous change for all working women.”
The Pan Am Museum’s high school intern Michael Gentner assisted with this interview as guest co-host.

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A very special thanks to Mr. Adam Aron, Chairman and CEO of AMC and president of the Pan Am Historical Foundation and Pan Am Brands for their continued and unwavering support!

Episode 40: Tom Betti and a Rock Song About History Aug 18, 2023

In this episode we are turning the tables…the interviewee becomes the interviewer. Guest host Phillip Keene interviews the host of The Pan Am Podcast, historian Tom Betti to bring our listeners his story. Phillip is a podcast guest in episodes 18, 29, and 30.

This program is marking a milestone as this is the 40th episode and the beginning of season three.
Tom Betti is dedicated to bringing history to life through entertaining and engaging storytelling. Although having a career in public service and government work for over 20 years, history has always been his constant passion.

He currently serves on the board of the Pan Am Museum Foundation with Phillip and has co-authored five books on Columbus, Ohio history. His latest book, written with his mentor Doreen Uhas Sauer, is titled Forgotten Landmarks of Columbus.
Since 2006, Tom co-leads various local history tours and educational programing with Doreen where he always brings dry humor and wit, but also makes learning about history engaging and fun. He works closely as a professional partner with the Columbus Metropolitan Library on neighborhood tours, special events, and presentations…and has been a guest on WOSU Public Media.
In addition, he is an active member of the 501st Legion volunteer organization, a LucasFilm affiliate, providing screen accurate Star Wars character appearances to charities and good causes like children hospitals, libraries, hospice centers, and museums. To learn more, watch this video.
To watch the education video of "We Didn't Start the Fire" by Billy Joel, click here.
Tom earned a Master of Arts in History from Norwich University and lives in the historic Hartman Hotel Building in Columbus, Ohio with his pug, Roosevelt.

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A very special thanks to Mr. Adam Aron, Chairman and CEO of AMC and president of the Pan Am Historical Foundation and Pan Am Brands for their continued and unwavering support!

Episode 39: Madeline Smith and a Romance in the Sky Jul 30, 2023

In this episode we are joined by 98-year-old Madeline Smith and her daughter Valerie Smith O’Grady Skinner.
Both were Pan Am flight attendants…Madeline joined the airline right after the war in 1946 and Valerie, following in her mother’s footsteps, joined the company in 1977.
Madeline was a stewardess until 1951 when she resigned to marry the love of her life. But although personally leaving Pan Am’s employment, the airline was still an important part of her family as her new husband was a Pan Am pilot named Charles Smith. The two met on an overseas working trip and were inseparable, marrying only six months after they met. Captain Smith passed away in 1989.
Valerie stayed with the company until the end in 1991 where she was hired by Delta and would continue flying for almost two decades.

Today, Madeline is still a force to be reckoned with. At 98 years young…a typical day for Madeline is playing nine holes of golf, an hour of tennis, kayaking, and then walking two miles!

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A very special thanks to Mr. Adam Aron, Chairman and CEO of AMC and president of the Pan Am Historical Foundation and Pan Am Brands for their continued and unwavering support!

Episode 38: Dan Colussy, Pan Am's President and Chief Operating Officer in the 1970s Jun 11, 2023

In this episode we are joined by Dan Colussy who served as Pan Am’s President and Chief Operating Officer in the 1970s. Dan will share his experiences of working in the airline industry during a pivotal point in Pan Am history. This interview provides a unique look inside the workings of the executive leadership of the airline in the 1970s.
After serving in the U.S. Coast Guard after college, Mr. Colussy began his career in engineering at General Electric and then went on to work for American Airlines and Northeast Airlines in executive marketing positions before joining the prestigious advertising agency Wells, Rich and Green as Senior Vice President overseeing the Trans World Airlines account.
As a result of a chance encounter seated next to the CEO of Pan Am on a TWA plane over the Atlantic, Mr. Colussy was hired by Pan Am in 1970 as Vice President of Marketing Development and in a short period of time was promoted to Senior Vice President of the same division.
In 1976, Mr. Colussy was promoted to Executive Vice President and was elected as a member of the Pan Am's Board of Directors. Two years later in May 1978, he was elected president and chief operating officer of Pan American World Airways by the company’s board of directors. William Seawell remained Pan Am CEO.
Mr. Colussy left Pan Am in 1980 to pursue other opportunities in the airline and aerospace industries. A successful and respected businessman, among his many pursuits he served as chairman and CEO of Canadian Pacific Airlines and is the former Chairman of Iridium Satellite, which he took out of bankruptcy in 2000 and rebuilt into a global and profitable satellite network providing communications services for over one million customers worldwide.
Today, Mr. Colussy is the Chairman of Gemini Capital, a Venture Capital Fund investing in new technologies.

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A very special thanks to Mr. Adam Aron, Chairman and CEO of AMC and president of the Pan Am Historical Foundation and Pan Am Brands for their continued and unwavering support!

Episode 37: Lester Kappel, World War II Aircraft Mechanic with Pan Am May 14, 2023

In this episode we are joined by 99-year-old Lester Kappel. He worked for Pan Am during World War II beginning in early 1942 until mid 1946. He was stationed for the majority of World War II in Casablanca with the African-Orient division of Pan Am under the Air Transport Command.

Lester provides a unique perspective of what it was like to be working for the airline during wartime in support of Allied forces that utilized Pan Am’s vast global network and resources making it a vital lifeline of resupply.

He began his time with Pan Am as one of the airline’s esteemed mechanics and worked exclusively in 1942 on the celebrated Boeing B-314 Flying Boats and then later expanded his skills during the war to the engines of land-based planes.

Lester was at the airport and saw President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s plane when he came to Casablanca in January of 1943 to meet with British Prime Minister Winston Churchill.
Watch the Pan Am 1945 post-war film called, Clippers at War, to learn more about the airline's contribution to the war effort: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vvElNiAsC_Y
After leaving Pan Am after the war, Lester Kappel worked in the family printing business for 30 years, while also serving as a volunteer firefighter on Long Island beginning in 1958.
In the 1980s, he sold the company and began working for the local library where he worked for over 30 years up until recently. During Hurricane Sandy in 2012, Lester literally did not stop helping his Long Island neighbors until he was dehydrated and had to be taken to the hospital.
Today, Lester is revered by family, friends, library patrons, and firefighters alike. He is a great supporter of the Pan Am Museum and has donated items that are proudly on display in our public exhibits.

Support the show

Visit Us for more Pan Am History!
Support the Podcast!
Donate to the Museum!
Visit The Hangar online store for Pan Am gear!
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A very special thanks to Mr. Adam Aron, Chairman and CEO of AMC and president of the Pan Am Historical Foundation and Pan Am Brands for their continued and unwavering support!

Episode 36: Sam Donaldson, Legendary Newsman Mar 03, 2023

In this episode we are joined by legendary journalist Sam Donaldson where we will talking about traveling with Pan Am on assignment, covering presidents as White House correspondent, tracking down a Nazi war criminal, deregulation of the airlines, and everything in between.
He is best known for his distinguished 52 year career at ABC News, where he covered stories and conducted investigations of national and international interest. In 1977, he was assigned the coveted White House Correspondent assignment for ABC News, a post he would hold for the duration of the Carter and Reagan administrations. He would later return as ABC’s White House Correspondent for much of the Clinton Administration in the 1990s.
This episode is an indirect follow up to Episode 21: White House Press Charters and Flying with Air Force One where we explored Pan Am’s historic supporting role with presidential travel. In that episode we were joined by Dwight Chapin, a trusted aide to President Richard M. Nixon and Pan Am veterans: flight attendant Claire Graham and Captain John Marshall.
Sam Donaldson was a frequent passenger on Pan Am’s White House Press Charters during the Carter, Reagan, and Bush administrations.
In 1994, his Primetime Live segment on Erich Priebke, a former Nazi SS officer, set off a chain of events that ended with Priebke being arrested and convicted for war crimes and given a life sentence in prison. Remarkably, Priebke was living in Argentina out in the open for many years and admitted to most of his crimes on camera during Sam’s interview.
To learn more about this incredible interview that includes interviews with Sam Donaldson, ABC News producer Harry Phillips, and researcher Dalia Herbst, watch this segment of the television program Nazi Hunters.

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Episode 35: Pan Am's Diversity in the Cockpit Feb 16, 2023

In this episode we continue to celebrate Black History Month and are joined by veteran Pan Am pilots Captain Perry Jones and Ed Moon.
Perry was the first African American to be hired by Pan Am in late 1965 and Ed was the third to be hired in early 1967.
The second African American hired by Pan Am was Otis Benjamin Young in 1966. "O.B.," as he was affectionally referred to, was born in 1938 and graduated from Howard University and then served in the United States Air Force. After Pan Am, he flew for Delta Airlines until retirement. Unfortunately, Captain Young passed away on June 9, 2021.
These gentlemen were legendary trailblazers at the height of the civil right movement in the 1960s.
All three left a lasting legacy at Pan Am, paved the way for other people of color and beyond, and were part of the change that transformed the commercial aviation community.
In 1976, Benjamin Thomas, an Eastern Airlines pilot, organized a meeting that formed the Organization of Black Airline Pilots, now called the Organization of Black Aerospace Professionals, to address discrimination in the airline industry.
Ed Moon was a one of the 38 founders of the organization and both Perry and Ed served as president and board chair of the organization through the years.
Today, the Organization of Black Aerospace Professionals or OBAP for short, is a world-leading non-profit organization that changes lives by creating a pathway to success through educating youth, communities, and professionals—shaping an aerospace industry as diverse as the people they serve.
For more information on OBAP, visit their website at obap.org.

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A very special thanks to Mr. Adam Aron, Chairman and CEO of AMC and president of the Pan Am Historical Foundation and Pan Am Brands for their continued and unwavering support!

Episode 34: Junius Kellogg and the Pan Am Jets Wheelchair Basketball Team Feb 05, 2023

In this episode we celebrate Black History Month and are joined by author Bruce Wolk to explore the inspiring life of sports legend Junius Kellogg and his incredible connection to Pan American World Airways.
Junius Kellogg was born on March 16, 1927 in Haverstraw, New York to Lucy Lee Williams and Theodore Kellogg. Young Junius always excelled in the classroom as an outstanding student, but also was an exceptional athlete in every sport he attempted.
While in high school, Junius made the Virginia State High School All-Star Team, as well as, earning earn high marks in academics. After graduating in 1946, he was awarded a scholarship to West Virginia State, however, he was drafted into the U.S. Army after only one semester.
While in the military in 1948, Junius was named 1st Army all-around athlete. The next year he was offered a basketball scholarship to Manhattan College as the school’s first African American scholarship recipient. When eligible to play in the 1950-1951 season, the 6’10” Kellogg made an immediate impact on the team.
In January 1951, after reporting that someone was attempting to bribe him, Junius helped authorities uncover the biggest betting scandal in collegiate basketball history. And was subsequently hailed a national hero for his honesty and courage.

But despite this, a career in the NBA eluded him mainly because being the whistleblower embarrassed some of the league’s executives and star players that were likely involved in past betting schemes. After graduation in June 1953, he was invited to join the Harlem Globetrotters, even though he still dreamed of becoming a professional basketball player in the NBA.
That dream was shattered and his life forever changed on April 2, 1954 when a horrific car accident left him paralyzed from the shoulders down. While recovering in the Bronx Veterans Hospital, Junius was approached to be head coach of the Pan Am Jets, a wheelchair basketball team sponsored by Pan American World Airways. In addition, Pan Am offered him a job in the accounting department.
He became the first African American coach in the history of wheelchair basketball, and with the Pan Am Jets brought the sport to people throughout the world. Junius coached the U.S. Wheelchair Basketball team to a gold medal at the Tokyo 1964 Paralympic Games.
He died at age 71 on September 16, 1998.
To learn more about Mr. Kellogg and to watch a tribute video, visit the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Museum.

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A very special thanks to Mr. Adam Aron, Chairman and CEO of AMC and president of the Pan Am Historical Foundation and Pan Am Brands for their continued and unwavering support!

Episode 33: Dr. Johanna O’Flaherty, Helping Others With Weighted Wings Jan 29, 2023

In this episode we are joined by Dr. Johanna O’Flaherty.
Johanna joined Pan American World Airways in 1970 as a flight attendant, and was later promoted to purser, trainer, and in 1986 was appointed Corporate Manager of Pan Am’s new Employee Assistance Program (also known commonly today as EAP).
In this role, Johanna was responsible for the oversight of bio-psycho-social-spiritual aspects of the 1988 Lockerbie disaster.
Her new book, a memoir called Flight With Weighted Wings, was released in January of 2023 and is available from the Pan Am Museum’s online store.
Watch Johanna’s Pan Am corporate video to new employees from 1987 on our YouTube channel.
Johanna received her Doctorate of Philosophy in Clinical Psychology from Pacifica Graduate Institute in California. Today, Johanna is an expert in crisis management from a psychological perspective, and a renowned expert in the field of trauma, addiction and recovery.
She served as Vice President of Treatment Services at the Betty Ford Center from 2006 to 2013, before serving as CEO of the Las Vegas Recovery Center, Senior Fellow of Clinical Services, from 2013 to 2016.
In addition, she adds her 40 years of personal recovery to her long list of accomplishments. Johanna developed and implemented Crisis Response Programs for Pan American World Airways, Trans World Airlines, and has facilitated the training of Crisis Response Teams for several other airlines as well.
Then in September of 2001, Dr. O’Flaherty was again called to New York to assist with counseling airline employees and facilitating the Crisis Response training for the New York City Transit Authority after the terrorist attacks of September 11th. She also conducted critical incident response training for the FBI and first responders.
Dr. O’Flaherty has been featured on American news channels CBS, ABC, NBC and CNN as well as several podcasts as an expert in her field.
To listen to more of Dr. O’Flaherty, check out the podcast called Living OnBrand with Kim and Glenda.
For more information on Johanna or to contact her, her website is www.johannahelps.com
Today, Johanna maintains a consulting practice and has an active schedule as a keynote speaker in crisis management and addiction. She resides in Las Vegas, Nevada.

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A very special thanks to Mr. Adam Aron, Chairman and CEO of AMC and president of the Pan Am Historical Foundation and Pan Am Brands for their continued and unwavering support!

Episode 32: Terror on the Airline, New Lockerbie Arrest, and the Quest for Justice Jan 06, 2023

On December 11, 2022, Abu Agila Mohammad Mas’ud Kheir Al-Marimi (Mas’ud), the suspected bomb maker in the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103, was arrested by the U.S. Department of Justice and brought to the United States for prosecution.
In this episode we are joined by two distinguished guests, Fred Burton and Mark Zaid, who discuss counterterrorism, the intelligence community, the Lockerbie investigation spanning more than three decades, and the quest for American justice.
Due to the sensitivity of these topics, listener discretion is advised.

Fred Burton is a former police officer, special agent for the Diplomatic Security Service of the U.S. State Department, and a New York Times best-selling author.
His best-selling books include his personal memoir GHOST: Confessions of a Counterterrorism Agent and his other books Chasing Shadows: A Special Agent's Lifelong Hunt to Bring a Cold War Assassin to Justice, and Beirut Rules: The Murder of a CIA Station Chief and Hezbollah’s War Against America.
Fred’s website is www.officialfredburton.com
Mark Zaid is an American attorney, based in Washington, D.C., with a practice focused on national security law, freedom of speech constitutional claims, and government accountability.
Many of his cases are very well known, such as suing Libya for the 1988 terrorist bombing of Pan Am Flight 103, which resulted in a $2.7 billion settlement, the largest of its kind against a foreign government for terrorist activities. Mark’s website is www.markzaid.com

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A very special thanks to Mr. Adam Aron, Chairman and CEO of AMC and president of the Pan Am Historical Foundation and Pan Am Brands for their continued and unwavering support!

Episode 31: The Last CEO and the Last Clipper Dec 16, 2022

In this episode we will be recognizing the 31st anniversary of Pan American World Airways ceasing operations and explore the lead up to and the tumultuous year of 1991 which ended with the shutdown of Pan Am.

For the first interview, we are joined by the last CEO and Chairman of Pan Am, Russell L. Ray, Jr., and talk about his unpredictable and short time as the last leader of the airline. Mr. Ray has held senior positions with British Aerospace Inc., McDonnell Douglas, Pacific Southwest Airlines, Eastern Airlines and the Lockheed Aircraft Corporation.
For the second interview, we are joined by the "Last Clipper" Captain Mark S. Pyle, who made history as the last pilot to fly a revenue flight of Pan Am from Barbados to Miami. Captain Pyle then flew for United Airlines from 1992 to 2005. After hanging up his wings, he fulfilled a boyhood dream and became a police officer in 2007 and retired in 2012.

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A very special thanks to Mr. Adam Aron, Chairman and CEO of AMC and president of the Pan Am Historical Foundation and Pan Am Brands for their continued and unwavering support!

Episode 30: The Art of Travel Posters Dec 07, 2022

In this 30th episode of The Pan Am Podcast we will be exploring the Art of Travel posters!

We are joined by guests Phillip Keene, a Pan Am veteran flight attendant and collector and Meg Williams of the company Stick No Bills which restores and recreates high quality travel posters in stunning detail with rich and vibrant colors! Their posters range from affordable to exclusive, but all are the highest of quality and color vibrancy.
For listeners of The Pan Am Podcast, Stick No Bills is providing a special discount with any purchase from their online store. By using the promo code “PANAMPODCAST,” at checkout you will receive a free 24 x 36 inch lithograph of one of their best selling proprietary Mallorca or Ceylon travel posters with their Pan Am prints. https://sticknobillsonline.com/
Take a peak at some of their incredible artwork: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RoR2MzqR9Sk
To listen to our host Tom Betti as a guest on the Shared History Podcast, check out Episode 88!

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A very special thanks to Mr. Adam Aron, Chairman and CEO of AMC and president of the Pan Am Historical Foundation and Pan Am Brands for their continued and unwavering support!

Episode 29: AIDS Epidemic of the 1980s, Remembering Those We Lost Nov 25, 2022

In this episode we will be discussing the AIDS epidemic of the 1980s and begins with a report from ABC News on the evening of December 17, 1982.
Five veteran Pan Am employees (David Hinson, Phillip Keene, Linda Freire, Becky Sprecher, and Linda Reynolds) join us to share their experience during this time period and memories of their friends and co-workers that were lost to this terrible disease.
This provides a unique and intimate look at how an American corporation, Pan Am American World Airways, navigated the uncertainty of the AIDS crisis and how affected employees were treated.
Some companies during the 1980s did not support their employees during their illness with HIV/AIDS and those people lost their jobs and healthcare. Pan Am was not among them and the airline did everything it could to support their employees during this difficult time.
December 1st has been designated World AIDS Day since 1988 and is dedicated to raising awareness of AIDS in the world and mourning those who have died of the disease.
As of 2021, AIDS has claimed the lives of over 40 million people worldwide since the beginning of the epidemic in the early 1980s. An estimated 37 million people are living with HIV today, however, it is important to point out that through the advancement of science, HIV is a manageable disease today with anti-viral medications and most with the disease that are on these medications should be able to have normal lifespans with little complications.

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A very special thanks to Mr. Adam Aron, Chairman and CEO of AMC and president of the Pan Am Historical Foundation and Pan Am Brands for their continued and unwavering support!

Episode 28: The Flying Piano Player Oct 10, 2022

In this episode we are joined by Captain Beau Brant of United Airlines. He started flying for United in 2005 and has flown regional jets, 757s, 767s, and 787s throughout his career. He currently flies the Airbus A320.

When he is not in the air, his other passion is music…and today, in addition to being a commercial airline pilot, he is a celebrated classical pianist who loves to play the piano whenever and wherever he can...either in formal settings or playing in hotel and airport lobbies around the world on layovers.

Captain Brant will be our special musical guest at the Pan Am Museum Foundation’s Annual Gala weekend on Friday, November 11 and Saturday, November 12, 2022 outside of New York City.

Marine Air Terminal Dedication, Friday, November 11, 2022
On the evening of Friday, November 11th join us for a special event reception at LaGuardia Airport, Terminal A hosted by our sister organization, the Pan Am Historical Foundation! This dedication reception commemorates Pan Am's historic operation of the Marine Air Terminal between 1940-1948 and the new Boeing 314 model. Buy Tickets
Pan Am Museum's Annual Gala, Saturday, November 12, 2022
The next day, on the evening of Saturday, November 12th join us in Garden City, New York for this year’s Pan Am Museum's Annual Gala as we celebrate Pan Am legacy with this year's gala theme: “Flying Down to Rio.” Buy Tickets

Two Great Events, One Special Pan Am Weekend!
Visit our website, for more information and to purchase your tickets.
Captain Brant has been featured on NBC Nightly News, The New York Times, The Denver Post, The Virginian Pilot and several online publications.
He has recorded numerous albums, and six are available online from Apple Music, Amazon Music, YouTube, Spotify, Rhapsody Radio, and on his Facebook page which is called "Beau Brant Piano."
In the fall of 2020, Captain Brant released a new album of some of his favorites and popular songs called “Four Decades.”
For more information on Captain Brant and his music, visit his website: https://beaubrantmusic.com.
To learn more about career

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A very special thanks to Mr. Adam Aron, Chairman and CEO of AMC and president of the Pan Am Historical Foundation and Pan Am Brands for their continued and unwavering support!

Episode 27: Flight 73 Hostage Negotiations and Hijacking Aftermath Sep 26, 2022

This episode is a continuation of Episode 26 about the hijacking of Pan Am Flight 73. On September 5th 1986, at around 5:10am local time in Karachi, Pakistan, a Boeing 747 named Clipper Empress of the Seas was hijacked by four armed Palestinian commandos on the ground during the boarding process with almost 400 people on the aircraft.

In this episode we will presenting interviews with three former Pan Am employees who were part of the aftermath: Viraf Daroga, Pan Am's Country Director for Pakistan; Wendy Sue Knecht, Pan Am Flight Attendant and Trainer; and Diane Krumholtz Lyras of the White Plains Pan Am sales office and part of the crisis response team.
We are presenting these two episodes about Flight 73 back-to-back to give listeners a complete and objective look at what happen during this historic event, and the immediate aftermath, through primary sources and first-hand accounts.
Viraf Daroga will share his perspective on the hostage negotiations and his desperate attempts to save as many lives as he could. The nightmare of Flight 73 did not end on that tragic day in September of 1986, as the terrorist group responsible continued to threaten the lives of him and his family for many years afterward.

Wendy Sue Knecht who was stationed in Bombay in 1986 tasked with training new flight attendants hired in India. She is the author of the book "Life, Love, and a Hijacking: My Pan Am Memoir" and is featured in Episode 9 of this program.

Diane Krumholtz Lyras, an employee from the White Plains sales office, who was immediately sent to Karachi as part of the airline’s crisis response team to assist staff and families in the aftermath of the senseless violence.

A total of 20 people, ranging in ages from 7 years old to 81, included two Pan Am crew members and 18 passengers, were ultimately killed in this act of terrorism.

22 year old Pan Am Senior Purser Neerja Bhanot died as a result of her injuries and was posthumously awarded India’s highest civilian peacetime honor for bravery, the Ashoka Chakra, and became a revered national figure in India.

28 year old Pan Am Mechanic Meherjee Minocher Kharas was also killed by the terrorists when they opened fire inside the plane.
Both served their passengers with great honor, bravery, and valor.

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A very special thanks to Mr. Adam Aron, Chairman and CEO of AMC and president of the Pan Am Historical Foundation and Pan Am Brands for their continued and unwavering support!

Episode 26: Flight 73 Hijacking Remembrance Sep 01, 2022

On September 5, 1986 at around 5:10am local time in Karachi, Pakistan, a Pan Am Boeing 747 named Clipper Empress of the Seas was hijacked by four armed Palestinian commandos on the ground during the boarding process with almost 400 people on the aircraft.
A total of 20 people, including two Pan Am crew members and 18 passengers, were ultimately killed in this act of terrorism.

We dedicate this episode to all the 20 victims of this tragedy. They are remembered.
Pan Am Employees:
Neerja Bhanot, 22, Pan Am Flight Attendant and Purser
Meherjee Minocher Kharas, 28, Pan Am Mechanic
Both served their passengers with great honor, bravery, and valor.
From the United States:
Rajesh Kumar, 29, and Surendra Manubhai Patel, 50.
From Mexico:
José Álvarez Lamar Nuñez, 57, and Ricardo Muñoz Rosales, 28.
From Pakistan:
Syed Nesar Ahmad, 43, and Imran Rizvi, 17.
From India:
Kuverben Patel, 81, Kala Singh, 36, Seetharamiah Krishnaswamy, 61, Trupti Dalal, 28, Krishna Kumari Gadde, 28, Ganapathi Thanikaimoni, 48, Boby Thomachen Mulloor, 7, Thomachen Thomas Mulloor, 30, Aleyamma Scaria Nagatholy, 39, Ramakant Naik, 55, Rupal Desai, 26, and Kodiyattu K. Kurian, 25.
To the family and friends of the victims...our sincerest condolences.
For this special memorial edition of this program, we are joined by four Pan Am flight attendants that were on Flight 73 and were eyewitnesses to history:
Sherene Pavan, Sunshine Vesuwala, Madhvi Bahuguna, and Samira Goode.
These incredible women served their passengers with great courage and bravery and saved hundreds of lives. We salute them.

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A very special thanks to Mr. Adam Aron, Chairman and CEO of AMC and president of the Pan Am Historical Foundation and Pan Am Brands for their continued and unwavering support!

Episode 25: An Airline Romance, Marriage in the Middle East During a Coup, and Neighbors with a Pan Am Connection Aug 12, 2022

In this episode we are joined by Barbara Morris Wood and Karen Wallin Usas.

Barbara will be celebrating her 100th birthday on September 13, 2022! A very special early happy birthday greeting from all of us here at the Pan Am Museum!
Barbara worked for Pan Am for five years between 1944 and 1949. Her time at Pan Am, while short, was nothing short of exceptional as she pioneered a path for women to move up the ranks of the airline. She became the first woman to work the ticket counter and Barbara’s can-do spirit never waned.
After recognizing other inequalities, she acted on them, bringing benefits to the airline industry many still enjoy today. If you ever worked for an airline and enjoyed flight benefits, you have Barbara to thank! While at Pan Am, Barbara thought it was unfair that only company executives and flight crews had travel benefits with the airline. She wrote a convincing letter to management and advocated that all Pan Am employees regardless of position, including ticket counter, catering, and maintenance employees, should have all the same rights and flying benefits as everyone else.
The airline quickly agreed and expanded company travel benefits to all employees. This also set the employee flight benefit expectation in the aviation industry and other airlines followed Pan Am’s lead.

Karen Wallin Usas joined Pan Am as a flight attendant in 1970. She originally went to school to be a teacher, but a chance encounter with a flight attendant at a wedding intrigued her to apply to Pan Am and change direction in her career plans.

Karen grew up in LaGrange, Illinois, a Chicago suburb and graduated from University of Illinois, Urbana in 1969 with a degree in Education. As a young airline employee, the world was within her reach and Karen was able to travel to many exotic places that before she could only read and dream about.

For ten years between 1970 and 1980, Karen always felt comfortable in foreign lands with Pan Am and the excitement of adventure from those times has never waned. And when she looks back on the fond memories of her flying days…traveling the world with co-workers and her husband…it always brings a big smile and a deep sense of pride.

After Pan Am, she taught in many capacities and currently serves as a docent at the Rhode Island School of Design.

Barbara and Karen both live in Rhode Island and are neighbors and have become close friends.

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A very special thanks to Mr. Adam Aron, Chairman and CEO of AMC and president of the Pan Am Historical Foundation and Pan Am Brands for their continued and unwavering support!

Episode 24: Catch Me If You Can…An Interview with Frank Abagnale Jul 26, 2022

In this episode we are joined by Frank W. Abagnale, Jr. to talk about his interesting background. He will also provide tips on protecting your identity and wallet and how to avoid scams.
The 2002 academy award-nominated film by Steven Spielberg, Catch Me If You Can, starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Hanks was loosely based on Frank’s life.

This blockbuster film introduced a whole new generation to the wonder, glamour, and nostalgia of Pan American World Airways.
Frank W. Abagnale, Jr. is an authority on forgery, embezzlement, secure documents, cybercrime, and scams. For over 45 years he has worked with, advised, and consulted with hundreds of financial institutions, corporations, and government agencies around the world.

Mr. Abagnale lectures extensively at the FBI Academy and for the field offices of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. He is a former faculty member at the National Advocacy Center (NAC) which is operated by the Department of Justice, Executive Office for United States Attorneys. More than 14,000 financial institutions, corporations and law enforcement agencies use his fraud prevention programs.

He has also written numerous articles and books including The Art of the Steal, The Real U Guide to Identity Theft, Stealing Your Life and his most recent book, Scam Me If You Can – Simple Strategies to Outsmart Today’s Rip-off Artists.

Mr. Abagnale refuses to accept payment for any of his government work.

Today, the majority of his income is derived from consulting with major corporate clients such as LexisNexis, Intuit, and Experian and his public speaking engagements. Mr. Abagnale has conducted over 3,000 seminars on identity theft, cybercrime, and fraud worldwide.

Today, Mr. Abagnale is an advisor to Trusona in developing the world's first and only insured authentication platform eliminating the use of passwords.

The Pan Am Museum Foundation was honored to have him as the keynote speaker at the Pan Am Museum’s 2018 annual fundraising gala.

For more information on how you can protect yourself from scams and con artists, please visit his website, www.abagnale.com

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A very special thanks to Mr. Adam Aron, Chairman and CEO of AMC and president of the Pan Am Historical Foundation and Pan Am Brands for their continued and unwavering support!

Episode 23: The Stratocruiser, Tragedy Over the Amazon, and a Concert in the Sky Jul 11, 2022

In this episode Barbara Sharfstein, 92, a veteran Pan Am flight attendant, joins us to talk about her flying career, tragedy over the Amazon, and a concert in the sky with Louis Armstrong.

Barbara joined Pan Am in 1951 and after 35 years of service with the airline as a flight attendant, purser, check purser, and 747 in-flight director, she was transferred to United Airlines in 1986 when the Pacific Division was sold. She then worked for United for another six years before retiring in 1992.

When first hired, Barbara traveled onboard several groundbreaking and innovative aircraft—the Convair CV-240, the Lockheed Constellation, the DC-4, and most memorably, the Boeing 377 “Stratocruiser.” Barbara flew to numerous international destinations and was based in many of Pan Am’s divisions throughout out her career, but she most fondly remembers working the fabled Round the World flights…Clipper 001 and 002.
Barbara will discuss Pan Am Flight 202, a Boeing 377 Stratocruiser named Clipper New Hope, that crashed in the Amazon Basin on April 29, 1952 killing her good friend and roommate, Pat Monaghan. All 50 people on board were killed, 41 passengers and 9 crew members, in what was the deadliest-ever accident involving the Boeing 377 Stratocrusier.

The accident happened shortly after departure from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, enroute to the first schedule stop in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago. The final destination of this flight was New York.

Barbara's story is featured in the book tilted “Pan American World Airways: Aviation History Through the Words of Its People” by James Patrick Baldwin, Jeff Kriendler, and Leslie Giles.

During her aviation career flying around the world working for the airlines, Barbara also found great success in San Francisco real estate when she was not on duty in the air. Her crowning achievement was the development of a one-acre parcel of land in the Twin Peaks neighborhood of San Francisco into a subdivision of twenty condos. Many say it has one of the best views of the city!

Today, Barbara volunteers at the San Francisco International Airport Aviation Museum. As a volunteer, she enjoys sharing her stories and lending her time ever since the international terminal was rebuilt in 2000.

Additionally, she served as the editor of the World Wings International San Francisco Chapter newsletter, having excelled in that position for the pas

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A very special thanks to Mr. Adam Aron, Chairman and CEO of AMC and president of the Pan Am Historical Foundation and Pan Am Brands for their continued and unwavering support!

Episode 22: Max Gurney - WWII Hero, Airline Legend, and Renaissance Gentleman Jun 05, 2022

In this special episode we are joined by Max Gurney, who will celebrate his 101st birthday on June 10, 2022! The Pan Am Museum and the entire worldwide Pan Am community wish him the happiest of birthdays!

Max is a 45-year veteran of Pan Am and a living legend within the airline community. He is also the godfather to His Serine Highness, Prince Albert II of Monaco.

Max was kind enough to invite host Tom Betti into his home for a chat.

He tells us about his childhood, serving in the U.S. Army under General Patton during World War II, and then beginning his storied career at Pan Am after the war.
Max Gurney joined Pan American Airways in 1946 as a ticket counter agent at the Marine Terminal at La Guardia Airport, located in Flushing, New York.

Because of his ability to speak four languages, he was quickly promoted to Sales Manager in Dakar, Senegal with jurisdiction over five countries in West Africa.

In 1949, Max opened the Pan Am office in Milan, and was reassigned shortly after in 1950 to Beirut as Sales Manager on loan to Middle East Airlines (MEA), as part of a management contract with Pan Am. He was responsible for airline operations in six Middle East countries including Saudi Arabia.

In 1951, he was appointed Assistant District Sales Manager in Rome, Italy covering six countries, and then transitioned in 1957 to Senior Representative and District Sales Manager for Southern France based in Nice where he formed a very close personal friendship with Monaco’s Prince Rainier III and his wife, Princess Grace, the former American actress Grace Kelly.

Their friendship grew so close that when their son Prince Albert was born, the Prince and Princess asked Max to be the child’s godfather.

In 1972, Max was transferred to Nassau as Managing Director for the Bahamas, including the Freeport and Rock Sound stations, until the Bahamas offices were closed in 1976.

He subsequently became District Traffic and Sales Manager in Oslo, Norway until 1980, and then once again returned to Monaco as Pan Am Sales Manager. This was because of his close personal friendship with Prince Rainier and Princess Grace.

He held this position until the closure of Pan Am in 1991 and assisted with the transition to Pan Am’s successor in the market.

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A very special thanks to Mr. Adam Aron, Chairman and CEO of AMC and president of the Pan Am Historical Foundation and Pan Am Brands for their continued and unwavering support!

Episode 21: White House Press Charters and Flying with Air Force One May 02, 2022

In this episode we will be exploring Pan Am’s prestigious role in White House Press Charters travelling as part of the entourage of the President of United States and his aircraft, Air Force One.

Then we are joined by three special guests.

Our first guest is Dwight Chapin who was a top aide to President Richard M. Nixon. He recently released a book called The President’s Man: The Memoirs of Nixon’s Trusted Aide. While at the White House, Mr. Chapin helped organize presidential travel and traveled with President Nixon on his historic trips to China and the Soviet Union. To learn more about Dwight Chapin and to purchase his book, visit: https://www.thepresidentsman.com
A special thank you to Jim Bryon and Joe Lopez of the Richard Nixon Foundation for connecting us with Mr. Chapin. We encourage you to visit the Richard M. Nixon Presidential Library and Museum in Yorba Linda, California.
The 1970 hijackings and President Nixon's robust airport security program are mentioned in the interview. For more information, listen to "Episode 6: Hijackings and the Dawn of Global Terrorism."

Our second guest is Claire Graham who joined Pan Am in 1967 as a flight attendant and was a purser from 1968 to 1991 when she joined Delta Airlines. Claire was part of the White House Press Charter flight crew and flew most of the special trips from 1974 to 1991.

And last but not least, Captain John Marshall returns to the program to tell us his stories of flying press charters for the White House and flying alongside Air Force One.
You can visit and tour the two VC-137Cs (Boeing 707) that served as Air Force One at:
National Museum of the U.S. Air Force in Dayton, Ohio:
https://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil
This plane, SAM-26000, took President Kennedy to Dallas, Texas in 1963 and President Nixon to China in 1972.

Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum in Simi Valley, California: https://www.reaganlibrary.gov (SAM-27000)

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Episode 20: Flying for TWA, Pan Am, and Living in Afghanistan Apr 18, 2022

In this 20th episode, we are joined by Mary Lou Bigelow, a former TWA air hostess from 1959–1962 and a Pan Am stewardess/purser from 1962-1964. She discusses working for the two airlines and what it was like to live in Afghanistan.

In 1964, Mary Lou married a pilot, whom she met in Beirut, Lebanon while working a 14-day NYC-HKG pattern. Pan Am still had a policy that female flight attendants hang up their wings once they married, but she continued working for Pan Am in reservations and later as a ticket sales agent at the Miami, Florida downtown office.
From 1968 through 1972, Captain John Bigelow and Mary Lou lived in Kabul, Afghanistan, where John was the chief training pilot on a Pan Am Technical Assistance Program (TAP) with Ariana Afghan Airlines. This was a peaceful period in Afghan history under King Mohammed Zahir Shah until the 1973 Afghan coup d'état led by Army General and Prince Mohammed Daoud Khan, a year after the Bigelow's moved back to the United States.

From 1974 to late 1975, the Bigelows lived in Kinshasa, the Democratic Republic of Zaire (now Democratic Republic of the Congo), while Captain Bigelow served as Director of Operations for Air Zaire under Pan Am’s TAP program there.
She returned to Afghanistan in 2002 and 2004 as part of her television program.

Currently, Mary Lou is president of the Boston Chapter of World Wings International.
Mary Lou is a successful real estate agent in the Boston area with Gibson Sotheby’s International Realty.

For more information and to see her blog and cable TV interview shows - Mary Lou Bigelow Show, The Global Connection and Afghanistan Series, visit maryloubigelow.com/tv.

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A very special thanks to Mr. Adam Aron, Chairman and CEO of AMC and president of the Pan Am Historical Foundation and Pan Am Brands for their continued and unwavering support!

Episode 19: Concorde Apr 01, 2022

In this episode we explore the fascinating history of Concorde from British Airways.
This episode is a direct follow up to “Episode 7: Supersonic Transports, An Angry JFK, and Flying the Line.” In that episode we explored the race for the first passenger supersonic aircraft between a British and French partnership, the United States, and the Soviet Union.

Then we are joined by Captain Mike Bannister, the chief pilot of British Airways' Concorde fleet from 1995 to 2003.

Along with Jennifer Coutts Clay, Pan Am’s general manager for product design and development and before that worked on the Concorde project for British Airways. She is the author of the e-book, Jetliner Cabins available on Apple, Amazon, and Google.

And John Lampl, a 41-year veteran executive of British Airways who worked for the Concorde program the entire 27 years of passenger service.
On May 5, 1974, CBS 60 Minutes did an incredible report on the Concorde, here is the link to view: https://youtu.be/TQSO9mNgZcw
Here's a select list of museums where you can see Concorde:

Brooklands Museum, Weybridge, England UK
Intrepid Sea, Air, & Space Museum, New York City, NY USA
Aeropace Bristol, Bristol, England UK
The Museum of Flight, Seattle, WA USA
Smithsonian National Air & Space Museum, Washington, D.C. USA

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A very special thanks to Mr. Adam Aron, Chairman and CEO of AMC and president of the Pan Am Historical Foundation and Pan Am Brands for their continued and unwavering support!

Episode 18: Pan Am in the Movies, From Flight Attendant to Hollywood Actor Mar 18, 2022

In this episode we explore the history of Pan Am in the Movies!

Then we will be joined by two guests to talk about Hollywood and Pan Am!

Mark Carlson is our first guest. He is the author of the book, Flying on Film: A Century of Aviation in the Movies, 1912 to 2012.
Legally blind, Mark also wrote the award winning book, Confessions of a Guide Dog - The Blonde Leading the Blind, about his first Guide Dog, Musket.

And the second interview… From a Pan Am flight attendant to a Hollywood actor…Phillip Keene shares his story of working for the airline, hanging up his wings, loss and love, and stepping in front of the camera.
He is best known for playing Buzz Watson on the TNT original TV series The Closer and its spinoff Major Crimes. Both are available on DVD and on streaming services.

The four movie themes are under thirty seconds in compliance with fair use copyright. Music Credits:
The James Bond Theme, Monty Norman & John Barry
Theme from Indiana Jones, John Williams
Theme from Blade Runner, Vangelis
Theme from 2001: A Space Odyssey, Richard Strauss

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A very special thanks to Mr. Adam Aron, Chairman and CEO of AMC and president of the Pan Am Historical Foundation and Pan Am Brands for their continued and unwavering support!

Episode 17: Tenerife Airport Disaster Remembrance Mar 08, 2022

We dedicate this episode to all the 583 victims of this tragedy. They are remembered.
To the family and friends of the victims...our sincerest condolences.
Special Guest: Dorothy Kelly, a Pan Am Flight Attendant who survived the accident, tells her harrowing and heroic story of survival and helping those in need.
On March 27, 1977 at 5:06 PM local time on the island of Tenerife in the Spanish Canary Islands off the Moroccan Coast…a KLM 747 attempted to take off without clearance and collided with a Pan Am 747 which was taxiing on the same runway at the direction of air traffic control.
A total of 583 people were killed in the accident making it the worst disaster in aviation history to date.
We remember our Pan Am family members who lost their lives in the line of duty that terrible day:
Francoise Colbert de Beaulieu Greenbaum
Mari Asai
Sachiko Hirano
Christine Ekelund
Miguel Torrech Pere
Marilyn Luker
Carol Thomas
Aysel Sarp Buck
Luisa Garcia Flood
Please visit the International Tenerife Memorial page for more information: https://www.tenerife-memorial.org/en/.

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A very special thanks to Mr. Adam Aron, Chairman and CEO of AMC and president of the Pan Am Historical Foundation and Pan Am Brands for their continued and unwavering support!

Episode 16: Aviation Pioneers, Birth of an Airline, and Dodging the KGB Feb 19, 2022

In this episode we explore the founding of Pan Am and the early years of the airline.
Juan T. Trippe is widely known as the principle founder of Pan Am and rightly so. However, the early history of Pan Am is very complex and at times quite confusing with multiple people and mergers involved.

Then we are joined by George Hambleton, whose father John Hambleton was a co-founder of Pan Am and close friend and business partner of both Juan Trippe and Charles Lindbergh.

Like his father, George also worked for Pan Am, having been sent on special assignment by Juan Trippe to Moscow at the height of the Cold War in the 1960s.

George talks about his celebrated father and share stories about his time working behind the iron curtain.
Recently, the Pan Am Museum opened a new exhibit called the Pioneer’s Wall dedicated to those passionate visionaries who were instrumental in building the strong foundations of the airline that would become Pan American World Airways.

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A very special thanks to Mr. Adam Aron, Chairman and CEO of AMC and president of the Pan Am Historical Foundation and Pan Am Brands for their continued and unwavering support!

Episode 15: Pan Am International Flight Academy and Stories From the Flight Deck Feb 04, 2022

In this episode we explore the only division of Pan Am American World Airways that survived bankruptcy liquidation and emerged as an independent company called the Pan Am International Flight Academy headquartered in Miami, Florida.

Then we welcome back Pan Am Captains Paul LaCheppelle and John Marshall.

Captain Lachapelle is featured in Episode 6: Hijackings and the Dawn of Global Terrorism.

Captain Marshall is featured in Episode 2: The First Presidential Flight and the Last Pan Am Flight.

If you haven’t heard these episodes, we encourage you to take a listen after you finish this installment.

Both captains will share their boyhood dreams of becoming a pilot…and other stories from the flight deck.
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More about the Pan Am International Flight Academy:

The Pan Am Flight Academy is the leading provider of training support for regional, national, and international airlines and aviation professionals. Pan Am Flight Academy is the only surviving division of original Pan American World Airways and can trace its instruction heritage to the earliest days of airline flight training.
The Academy’s story began in the early 1960s as an airline, Pan American World Airways. In 1980, the airline opened its pilot training facility in Miami, Florida and is still its base of operations today. Presently, Pan Am has more years of airline training experience than any other aviation training school in the world.
The Pan Am Flight Academy provides a professional training experience at the best price with a corporate commitment to meet private and commercial customer objectives.

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A very special thanks to Mr. Adam Aron, Chairman and CEO of AMC and president of the Pan Am Historical Foundation and Pan Am Brands for their continued and unwavering support!

Episode 14: Panamac Computers, the Dawn of the Information Age, and Global Trailblazing Women Jan 14, 2022

In this episode we will be exploring another innovation of the early 1960s, Pan Am’s worldwide reservation and communications system called Panamac.

Then we are joined by Julia Cooke, the author of the best-selling book Come Fly the World which was recently nominated for the Goodreads Best Books 2021 Choice Awards.
To purchase this book and support the museum, click here.

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More about Panamac:

Check out this 1962 Pan Am film titled "Across the World in 3 Seconds" showing communications in the "modern" world, and includes a behind-the-scenes look at Pan Am's complex, computer-based reservation and logistical systems. It presents a fast - moving history of communications from cave drawings to the jet age of electronic computers.

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A very special thanks to Mr. Adam Aron, Chairman and CEO of AMC and president of the Pan Am Historical Foundation and Pan Am Brands for their continued and unwavering support!

Episode 13: The TWA Edition! Exploring the TWA Museum and TWA Hotel Jan 01, 2022

Welcome to a special TWA Edition of The Pan Am Podcast!

In this episode we are joined by Pam Blaschum, the director of the TWA Museum in Kansas City, Missouri. Then we are joined by Tyler Morse of MCR Hotels who developed the former TWA Flight Center at JFK Airport in New York City into today’s TWA Hotel.

It is important to point out that Pan Am history is not complete without TWA and TWA history is not complete without Pan Am. These two airlines were pioneers for most of the 20th Century and each achieved many firsts in aviation history.

Not only did they lead the way in commercial aviation, but developed many of the systems, procedures, technology, and culture that are still evident today.

The imprint that these two companies left on history cannot be ignored.
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TWA Museum, TWA Hotel, and Eero Saarinen:

Located in the 1931 TWA Corporate Headquarters building, the TWA Museum is located in Kansas City, Missouri. Plan you visit today!
Located in the iconic 1962 TWA Flight Center, designed by Eero Saarinen, at JFK International Airport in New York City, the TWA Hotel has become a nostalgic destination. The Paris Café by Jean-Georges serves breakfast, lunch and dinner. Book your room and make your reservation today!
Check out the PBS American Masters documentary on the famous architect of the TWA Flight Center (now the TWA Hotel): Eero Saarinen: The Architect Who Saw the Future.

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A very special thanks to Mr. Adam Aron, Chairman and CEO of AMC and president of the Pan Am Historical Foundation and Pan Am Brands for their continued and unwavering support!

Episode 12: Lockerbie and Flight 103 Remembrance Dec 19, 2021

We dedicate this episode to all the 270 victims of this tragedy. They are remembered.
To the family and friends of the victims...our sincerest condolences.
Special Guests: John Reina, brother of victim Jocelyn Reina, with Pan Am veterans Linda Freire and Myron “Rosie” Rosenstein.

Pan Am Flight 103 Memorial (Lockerbie Memorial Carin)
Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Virginia, USA
Garden of Remembrance
Dryfesdale Cemetery, Lockerbie, Scotland, UK
Syracuse University Remembrance
Syracuse, New York, USA
30+ Years of 103 Memorials*
Pan Am Historical Foundation
The Bombing of Pan Am Flight 103: 30 Years Later Still Actively Seeking Justice*
Federal Bureau of Investigation, USA
December 14, 2018
Remembering the Victims of Pan Am Flight 103, Memorial Service Marks 30th Anniversary of Terrorist Attack
Federal Bureau of Investigation, USA
December 21, 2018
*May contain images of the cockpit that is most distressing to families of the victims.

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A very special thanks to Mr. Adam Aron, Chairman and CEO of AMC and president of the Pan Am Historical Foundation and Pan Am Brands for their continued and unwavering support!

Episode 11: The Legacy Endures 30 Years After Closing, A Conversation with Ed Trippe Dec 03, 2021

In this episode we commemorate the sad 30th Anniversary of Pan American World Airways ceasing operations on December 4, 1991.

To mark this special milestone, we are joined by Ed Trippe, the youngest son of Pan Am’s legendary founder Juan Trippe and his wife Betty Stettinius Trippe.

Ed is the founder and chairman of our sister organization, the Pan Am Historical Foundation.

In December of 1991, shortly after the company his father founded ceased operations, Ed worked tirelessly to preserve the company’s historical documents, artifacts, and archives.

He was instrumental in finding a permanent depository at the University of Miami’s Richter Library for the vast treasure trove of Pan Am history to be preserved for future generations of researchers. This collection is one of the most complete corporate archives of a bankrupt company.
Here is the video mentioned in this episode by John F. Clarke (additional video from Jerry Labrusciano) of the departure ceremony of Pan Am’s last (and first) 747-100 N747PA, Clipper Juan T. Trippe, as it departs for the final time from JFK.
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Buy the Must-See Pan Am Documentary Film Across the Pacific :

This three part series may be purchased on a single DVD for $20, plus shipping, from the Pan Am Museum's online store.
Across the Pacific is also available for digital purchase on Apple iTunes and Amazon.

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A very special thanks to Mr. Adam Aron, Chairman and CEO of AMC and president of the Pan Am Historical Foundation and Pan Am Brands for their continued and unwavering support!

Episode 10: The Pan Am Building, A Landmark of New York City Nov 22, 2021

In this episode, we explore the history of the Pan Am Building in New York City.

This 59-story skyscraper is located at 200 Park Avenue and shares a lot with the beaux-arts icon, and National Landmark, New York’s Grand Central Terminal.

Later in the program we are joined by Richard Roth, Jr., the grandson of Emery Roth, a prolific New York City architect who designed many notable buildings in the 1920s and 1930s.

Richard provides a firsthand account on the design and construction process of the Pan Am Building as he had a front row seat. After graduating college, the young architect joined the family firm and worked closely alongside the building’s famous architects and project developer.

The Pan Am Building has been the topic of debate amongst architects, architectural historians, preservationists, and planners alike since the 1950s.

Although initially criticized for its location, placement, and for its alleged disregard for its surrounding urban environment, the building was infamously called one of the most hated buildings in New York City. However, the Pan Am Building’s architectural design is gaining popularity and respect with time
A special thank you to Matt Eberhart for his research assistance and Edward Condit for his donation in support of this program.

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Episode 9: JFK's WorldPort, Global Bargain Hunters, and a Jet-setting Mom Nov 15, 2021

In this episode, we will be exploring the history of the Pan Am WorldPort, and Unit Terminal Building (UTB), which was located at Terminal 3 within John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City.

Later we are joined by author Wendy Sue Knecht to discuss her book, Life, Love, and a Hijacking: My Pan Am Memoir. Wendy joined Pan Am in 1979, and was with the company until 1991, before joining Delta Air Lines.
To purchase this book and support the museum, click here.
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More about the WorldPort:

Check out this 1959 Pan Am film titled "Jet Terminal", promoting the completion of the Pan Am's UTB, which would be renamed the WorldPort in 1971. Made with an avant garde fashion that combines black and white footage with color material, and with almost no spoken dialogue or sound effects, the movie shows how the airline's new high-tech terminal makes everything about air travel look easy -- and glamorous.

Thank you to Peter Tuccillo for interviewing Milton Heblad in 2013.

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A very special thanks to Mr. Adam Aron, Chairman and CEO of AMC and president of the Pan Am Historical Foundation and Pan Am Brands for their continued and unwavering support!

Episode 8: A Lifetime of Romantic Adventure…From Flying Boats to Jumbo Jets Oct 31, 2021

In this episode we are joined by a very special guest: Pan Am Captain Dave Bridges, Centenarian. He celebrated his 100th birthday earlier this year and he just might be one of the oldest people to ever be on a podcast!

A 37-year Pan Am veteran, Captain Bridges joined the company in 1943 and retired in 1981. He began as a relief co-pilot on the Boeing 314 flying boat during World War II, and after the war he flew a variety of land-based aircraft including the Douglas DC-3, DC-4, DC-7c, the Boeing 377 Stratocruiser, the Boeing 707, and the Boeing 747.

He currently lives outside of San Francisco, California and enjoys spending time with his family.

Special thanks to Museum Curator John Luetich, Admiral Bill Studeman, Board Member Matt Eberhart, and Museum Board Chair Linda Freire for their help on this interview. Also, thank you to donors on Facebook that made this interview possible!
Shortly after the conclusion of World War II in 1945, Pan Am made a film to mark the airline's contributions and sacrifices during the war: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oTzpFX2BPPI
In 1950, Pan Am made a promotional film to promote the Boeing 377 Stratocruiser: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v92U2F9gbUo
In the interview, Captain Bridges mentions an “old timer” that served as a mentor to the younger pilots. His name was Pan Am Captain John H. “Jack” Tilton.
Tilton joined Pan Am in 1929 and would later go on to be Chief Pilot of the Pacific Division succeeding the late Captain Edwin C. Musik. In 1941, after the promotion and transfer of John C. Leslie to be Division Manager of the Atlantic, Captain Tilton was promoted to Operations Manager of the Pacific Division.
After a distinguished 24 year career with Pan Am, Captain Jack Tilton retired in 1953 with 22,000 flying hours. He was the first pilot of the Pacific Division to retire.
Here is a 1948 article from the “Clipper” employee newspaper about Captain Tilton:
https://digitalcollections.library.miami.edu/digital/collection/asm0341/id/62129/
A special thanks to the University of Miami, Richter Library Special Collections for digitizing this publication and making it available to the public.

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A very special thanks to Mr. Adam Aron, Chairman and CEO of AMC and president of the Pan Am Historical Foundation and Pan Am Brands for their continued and unwavering support!

Episode 7: Supersonic Transports, An Angry JFK, and Flying the Line Oct 20, 2021

In this episode we will be exploring the 1960s race for the first supersonic passenger aircraft between the United States, the Soviet Union, and a British-French partnership.

Then we are joined by Becky Sprecher, a Pan Am flight attendant and co-author with Paula Helfrich of “Flying: A Novel,” a historical fiction book about Pan Am crews flying over the Pacific in the 1970s.
To purchase the book, “Flying: A Novel,” please visit the Museum’s online store: https://shop.thepanammuseum.org/products/flying-a-novel

To watch the late 1960s Boeing promotional film “You, Me, and the SST” mentioned in this episode, visit: https://youtu.be/730hKzBgu6c
Julia Cooke wrote a moving article about the incredible life of the late Paula Zoe Helfrich in Atavist Magazine: https://magazine.atavist.com/the-improbable-life-of-paula-zoe-helfrich/?fbclid=IwAR0P3krMF-nH_W1NiJOgCCewU2Z-wvrQ1tl9q-7UiL9Bx4K7K3DShmjLu-4
The mission of the Pan Am Museum Foundation is “to educate, celebrate,and inspire present and future generations by preserving historical and diverse personal stories of Pan American World Airways.”
Pan Am was a pioneer in air travel and still stands as one of the most iconic and innovative airlines in aviation history.

That legacy lives on at the Pan Am Museum in Garden City, New York, where you can explore the rich history of the aircrafts and individuals at the heart of the company known as The World’s Most Experienced Airline.

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A very special thanks to Mr. Adam Aron, Chairman and CEO of AMC and president of the Pan Am Historical Foundation and Pan Am Brands for their continued and unwavering support!

Episode 6: Hijackings and the Dawn of Global Terrorism Sep 24, 2021

In this episode we explore the coordinated terrorist hijackings of four passenger airliners all bound for New York on the same day on September 6, 1970. The events were a watershed moment and aviation would never be the same again.
The four planes involved were: a TWA Boeing 707, a SwissAir DC-8, a El Al Boeing 707, and a Pan Am Boeing 747 named Clipper Fortune. A fifth plane, a BOAC Vickers VC 10, was hijacked three days afterward.

Later in the program we are joined by Pan Am Captain Paul Lachapelle. A 30-year Pan Am veteran who joined the airline in 1955 flying the 707 and later 747SP. He retired from United Airlines in 1993.

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A very special thanks to Mr. Adam Aron, Chairman and CEO of AMC and president of the Pan Am Historical Foundation and Pan Am Brands for their continued and unwavering support!

Episode 5: Missiles, Hotels, and Rebranding an Icon Sep 13, 2021

In this episode we explore two of the subsidiaries of Pan Am: the InterContinental Hotels Corporation and the Pan Am Guided Missiles Range Division.

Yep, you read that right, the airline company had its own hotel chain for about 30 years, and Pan Am did aerospace work for the U.S. government including the space program for almost 40 years. Why? Because the American government asked them to do both.
Later we are joined by Jennifer Coutts Clay, a leader in the aviation business in the field of aircraft interiors, corporate identity, and branding.
A pioneer for women in the airline industry, Jennifer joined Pan Am in 1986 as General Manager for Product Design and Development. In this capacity, she completed a three-year, $25-million fleet upgrade program, redesigning all major aspects of the Pan Am passenger service product.
She is the author of “Jetliner Cabins,” a visually stunning book that offers a complete history of recent cabin design going back to the 1970s. It is the first and only comprehensive account of the aircraft cabin environment. The book contains black and white and color photographs of airline interiors from around the world, covering everything from the first-class luxury to economy class passenger experience.

The robust e-book, with thousands and thousands of photos, available for purchase at: jetlinercabins.com.

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A very special thanks to Mr. Adam Aron, Chairman and CEO of AMC and president of the Pan Am Historical Foundation and Pan Am Brands for their continued and unwavering support!

Episode 4: Evacuation of Saigon, Wings of Freedom Mission Sep 02, 2021

In this episode we are joined by Allan Topping, a Pan Am employee who evacuated almost 500 people out of Saigon days before the city fell.
On April 24, 1975, at the conclusion of the Vietnam War, with time running out as Saigon was surrounded by North Vietnamese troops, a Pan Am 747 jumbo jet carried 463 American and South Vietnamese civilians to safety and freedom.
At the center of this dangerous and desperate mission was Allan Topping.
Mr. Topping is the author of a book, “Wings of Freedom: A True Story,” about his incredible experience in Saigon.

To purchase the book, please visit the Museum’s online store: https://shop.thepanammuseum.org/products/wings-of-freedom-a-true-story-by-allan-topping

In 1990, NBC made a movie out of Al’s story called Last Flight Out starring James Earl Jones, Richard Crenna, and Rosliand Chao.

Watch the full movie on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1FH5Ef3AzsA

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A very special thanks to Mr. Adam Aron, Chairman and CEO of AMC and president of the Pan Am Historical Foundation and Pan Am Brands for their continued and unwavering support!

Episode 3: Flying Boats, Irish Coffee, and a Hollywood Star Aug 26, 2021

In this episode we explore Pan Am’s Boeing 314 Flying Boats. Then we are joined by Margaret O’Shaughnessy of our sister museum, the Foynes Flying Boat and Maritime Museum in Ireland.
Check out their website: https://www.flyingboatmuseum.com/

Margaret will tell us all about her museum which has the only full scale replica in the world, of a Pan American Boeing 314 called the Yankee Clipper. She will also tell us about the origins of Irish coffee and its unique connection to Pan Am history along with a conversation about Hollywood legend Maureen O’Hara and her storybook romance with Pan Am Captain Charlie Blair.

Foynes Irish Coffee Recipe: https://www.flyingboatmuseum.com/authentic-foynes-irish-coffee-recipe/

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A very special thanks to Mr. Adam Aron, Chairman and CEO of AMC and president of the Pan Am Historical Foundation and Pan Am Brands for their continued and unwavering support!

Episode 2: The First Presidential Flight and the Last Pan Am Flight Aug 19, 2021

In this episode we explore the first presidential flight. Then we are joined by Pan Am Captain John Marshall to share memories of the very last flight of Pan Am.
The mission of the Pan Am Museum Foundation is “to educate, celebrate,and inspire present and future generations by preserving historical and diverse personal stories of Pan American World Airways.”
Pan Am was a pioneer in air travel and still stands as one of the most iconic and innovative airlines in aviation history.

That legacy lives on at the Pan Am Museum in Garden City, New York, where you can explore the rich history of the aircrafts and individuals at the heart of the company known as The World’s Most Experienced Airline.

Support the show

Visit Us for more Pan Am History!
Support the Podcast!
Donate to the Museum!
Visit The Hangar online store for Pan Am gear!
Become a Member!

Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter!
A very special thanks to Mr. Adam Aron, Chairman and CEO of AMC and president of the Pan Am Historical Foundation and Pan Am Brands for their continued and unwavering support!

Episode 1: Welcome to the Pan Am Podcast and the Pan Am Museum Aug 18, 2021

Opened to the public in 2016 in Garden City, Long Island, New York (outside of NYC), the Pan Am Museum presents the Pan Am Podcast!
The Museum’s mission is “to educate, celebrate, and inspire present and future generations by preserving historical and diverse personal stories of Pan American World Airways.”
In this inaugural episode, Museum Director and Board Chair Linda Freire introduces the Pan Am Museum and talks about her career as a flight attendant, recruiter, and manager with Pan Am.
Pan Am was a pioneer in air travel and still stands as one of the most iconic and innovative airlines in aviation history.

That legacy lives on at the Pan Am Museum in Garden City, New York, where you can explore the rich history of the aircrafts and individuals at the heart of the company known as The World’s Most Experienced Airline.

Support the show

Visit Us for more Pan Am History!
Support the Podcast!
Donate to the Museum!
Visit The Hangar online store for Pan Am gear!
Become a Member!

Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter!
A very special thanks to Mr. Adam Aron, Chairman and CEO of AMC and president of the Pan Am Historical Foundation and Pan Am Brands for their continued and unwavering support!

The Pan Am Podcast Trailer Aug 17, 2021

Welcome to The Pan Am Podcast, the podcast series from the Pan Am Museum Foundation.
Pan Am was a pioneer in air travel and still stands as one of the most iconic and innovative airlines in aviation history.

That legacy lives on at the Pan Am Museum in Garden City, New York, where you can explore the rich history of the aircrafts and individuals at the heart of the company known as The World’s Most Experienced Airline.

Support the show

Visit Us for more Pan Am History!
Support the Podcast!
Donate to the Museum!
Visit The Hangar online store for Pan Am gear!
Become a Member!

Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter!
A very special thanks to Mr. Adam Aron, Chairman and CEO of AMC and president of the Pan Am Historical Foundation and Pan Am Brands for their continued and unwavering support!

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