The Rise And Fall of Pan Am

From 1927 to 1991, Pan American Airways was not just an airline, but an institution, an aesthetic, and an era in aviation history. This video traces the rise, peak and tragic fall of Juan Trippe’s globe-spanning enterprise, from its modest beginnings hauling mail to Cuba in the 1920s, to the glorious “clipper era” of the flying boats and the great technological and commercial advances of the 707 and 747. Pan Am’s fall, brought on by deregulation, terrorism and a corporate deal gone bad, is a tragic story. You may not have been around when Pan Am existed, but hearing its story may make you wish you had flown with them. Sources for this video included: Robert Gandt, Skygods: The Fall of Pan Am (New York: Morrow Company, Inc., 2014); Robert Daley, An American Saga: Juan Trippe and his Pan Am Empire (New York: Random House, 1980); Pan Am Corp. v. Delta Air Lines, Inc., 175 B.R. 438 (. 1994) (court opinion); Andrew R. Goetz & Timothy M. Vowles, “The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly: 30 Years of U.S. Airline Deregulation,” Journal of Transport Geography 17 (2009), 251-263; Interview with [Name Withheld], May 31, 2024; “Episode 31: The Last CEO and the Last Clipper,” The Pan Am Podcast, December 16, 2022, ; Mark Pyle, “The Last Clipper,” Air Line Pilot, June 1992; Michael Manning, “An Interview with Pan Am’s final President & CEO, Russell Ray, Jr.,” LinkedIn, June 5, 2018, Special thanks to: John Marcucci, Austin Pierce Also special thanks to the Caliban Rising channel: @CalibanRising Here is the side video, about the making of this video (and generally how I make videos for this channel): Article on my blog, The Garden of Memory, about the history of the Boeing 747: My website: My Ko-fi: My blog: My latest book, a mystery novel, “Daniel Vanished”: Chapters: 00:00-08:49: The Last Flight 08:49-20:28: The Beginning - Juan Trippe 20:28-31:49: The Early Golden Age 31:49-42:18: The War & Post-War 42:18-53:23: The Late Golden Age 53:23-1:09:16: The Fateful Gamble 1:09:16-1:22:52: The Empire In Decline 1:22:52-1:32:43: Lockerbie 1:32:43-1:46:09: The Fall 1:46:09-1:56:00: The Aftermath 1:56:00-1:59:32: Conclusion