PAN AM 747, LAST FLIGHT OF PAN AM TAKING OFF FROM MIAMI WINTER 1991

[mifty744]

Don't worry, PAN AM operates space-ships in 2001.

[snipingace34]

What happened to panam?

[djgloverv]

Continental, and American got most of the employees of PA. Sure UA got some of them too, though

[TONYLOVE1]

IF I CAN GET THE FINANCIAL BACKING I WILL BRING PAN AM BACK TO IT'S ELEGANCE. AND RULE THE SKY'S ONCE AGAIN I PROMISE...

[strafrag1]

Very sad indeed.

[CloneyBaloney]

Pan am went bust before I was born... My parents took their honeymoon on board a pan am 747... They said it was like being in a living room. If I ever get rich and famous, I want to bring Pan Am back. Did you hear they are destroying the main terminal? I'd say turn it into housing or something as its just too iconic.

[Tom8201]

Makes me wonder if Pan Am was still flying today, if they would charge for the first checked bag.

[Diddy1970AD]

@rania3830

Totally agree. For me I'm not worried about 300 entertainment channels, free beers and a bag of peanuts served with a smile, bottom line get me from A to B at a price I can afford.

[BoeingMegatop]

Why did they go bust?

[rev4life03]

@BoeingMegatop After the Lockerbie Bombing PanAm received a bad reputation and people began to stop flying with the airline, eventually the airline went bankrupt.

[mrblujet]

These videos are damned depressing ! I just watched the video of the last TWA flight from Heathrow to JFK before arriving at this video. Times have changed - and not for the better !

[chuzzwozzer]

Funny how nostalgic people get and look at things no-longer in existence through rose tinted glasses, I bet the same people moaned like fuck about Pan-Am service whilst they were still flying!!

[Suva1987]

My first flight was on board a PAM B 747-300 heading from Frankfurt to New York in 1983

[UGLYRAED]

Well Pan AM left with the luxury travel...No airline could ever compare to Pan Am :)

[11MRKARL]

I cannot stop watching these videos.They're great. Thank you for sharing it with us. Pan Am united our family.I was 14 when I came tothis country with my grandmom. Pan Am also brought my brother several years before. We still visitthe World Port that used to be Pan Am's terminal at JFK. It's heart breaking to see it because we love the airline. We love you Pan Am. We really do and we miss you. God I wish I was warren Buffet I would take back all the planesthat were sold and bring back the staff.

[rania3830]

oh people stop whining about flying today. you get cheap service because the tickets are cheap. if you want good service then pay the money for business class.

[DullMicah]

@rania3830 hahaha dude ur right i always take first class when i travel and i think its fine like flying i have never been on pan am because i wasnt born but my mom says its way cheaper and still thinks its the same but u just got to be in first class thats all

[BookRocky24]

I rather have American Airlines go bankrupt instead of Pan Am. It would have been a better place.

[unitedlaser]

I'm overwhelm with emotion about the comments I've read here, we all miss Pan Am, the great American World Class Airline, the iconic symbol of progress and a hopeful future for commercial aviation. Pan Am has left a great legacy, it's significant place in history and in the advancement of modern aviation has no parallel!

[claudiocp35]

@unitedlaser I flew Pan Am in 1981, from London to NY. It was something mythical. I could have chosed British, but I prefered PA. Great loss it doesn' t exist no more. 

[farthereast54]

Makes me sentimental - my first trip to Europe at age 19 was to Orly in Paris. I date myself to say, but it was on a brand new Pan American 747, among the first to fly that route. Later, my first trip to Leonardo da Vinci airport in Rome was also on Pam Am, wierdly, on the same plane that much later crashed in Lockerbie. It was an elegant airline, and among the last of the American carriers worth traversing an ocean.

[iPurpleSprinklez]

I really wish Pan Am becomes an airline again.

[titanascar]

I wasn't even born yet.

[sanitman1]

@olegkost. Sorry Oleg where oh where are you getting your incorrect rhetoric!! Let's start with this"too reliant on government protection". Prior to deregulation Pan American was NOT allowed to fly domestic to feed its lucrative international routes!!! While the crop dusters were permitted to chip away at the governments blessing. Changes in the industry????? Pan Am created the industry!!! Gain knowledge Oleg. Start reading SkyGods by Robert Gandt!!!

[evilblackrolf]

an historic page closed this day...

[prod6291]

wow i flew pan am in 1987 i was 7 years old going from miami to los angeles.. what a great airline i remember how big the plane was a 747. so sad it went out of business. now i only like to fly continental is a good airline but nothing like pan am was....

[OlegKostoglatov]

Sorry to say this but Pan Am did itself in, it was too reliant on government protection for too long and never adapted to changes in the industry. Perhaps the transition away from deregulation could have been managed better but in the end PAA had ten years to shape up and didn't, very unfortunate for it's employees and shareholders. If they don't do something about the government endorsed molestors of the TSA more airline will follow.

[lamoreaux45]

Whenever I see that iconic logo it brings back such wonderful memories. PAA- You are truly missed. Such a class act.

[DanielJWeiner]

SAD

[pimkantunthong]

Do you think PanAm would purchase the Airbus 380 if it were in business today?

[thestig747]

@pimkantunthong Yeah probably, and it would most likely be in a all business class configuration

[Midnightryder7]

I use to fly on PanAm all the time when i was a kid..including KLM that's still n bussines

[Booklover786]

Farewell Pan Am

[Ouakam1987]

From Ouakam1987

[Ouakam1987]

@chloe7829

Thank you for all this information. Merci beaucoup.

Pascal

[ltcolglennr]

I had the opportunity to fly on a B707 PAN AM in the 1960s. Flight was from Rome to NY. Those were the days.

[Ouakam1987]

IT WILL BE WONDERFUL IF SOMEBODY TAKES THÉ NAME PAN AM AGAIN TO GROUND À NEW COMPANY WITH THÉ SPIRIT OF EXCELLENCE THEY HAD

[chloe7829]

@Ouakam1987 Thank you for your comment, in fact after the demise of Pan Am II and III a transportation company in Maine bought the name and logo and operated a small regional airline under that name and also carried the logo. They lost their airworthyness certificate last year and they sold the name etc, to a company in south Texas, possibly Brownwood, TX who plans to fly Pan Am cargo service.

Another US airline still owes Pan American Corp. $300,000,000.00 bucks.

Ex Pan Amer

[levanter1M]

@chloe7829 So all thats left of that iconic name is the training centre. What a shame. Who owes $300M dollars to Pan Am and why? Most interested to know! Thanks

[chloe7829]

@levanter1M To my knowledge Delta received all of Pan Am's European routes and rights and were supposed to pay PAA 300 Million bucks plus an immediate 75 million to support a PAA south American operation which would have enabled PAA to stay in business in the Latin American market. Which didn't happen either. So as a result PAA folded it's wings. Pan Am II operated for s short while out of Miami to Nassau and Puerto Rico with wide body aircraft, that didn 't work out either. PAA III folded too

[cheeto705]

I toke the pan am

[Solstice4MNM]

Couldn't agree more with unitedlaser's comments about the 747 giving a spirit of optimism back then and being inspiring. Our Country was made more special by this-- and it made our youth more special too! Pan Am was part of what made America great!

[AVOZDAVERDADE200011]

PAN AN STOPED BECAUSE TRAGEDY OF 1988 BOMB CHASHED A JUMBO !!!!

65 MILLION TO PARENTS VICTIMS .... THAT TIME A LOT MONEY FOR A COMPANY !!!!

[sure1984]

If only all the new airlines were as good as Pan am. The name will always continue to be a legend!!

[ntt688]

A great loss. My uncle worked for Pan Am here in Lisbon.

[TwinSmoke]

My dad used to work for Pan American. I remember taking a flight to London from Miami. I was always fascinated with the names of the planes. The name of the plane we flew to London on was Clipper Queen of the Seas. The exact SAME aircraft that was blown up over Lockerbie Scotland. Scary stuff. But Pan Am is on a comeback. Someone bought the name when they folded and is currently building them back up.

[chloe7829]

The railroad company in Bangor Maine bought the name and Logo but lost their airworthyness certificate last spring. Their box cars still show the PAA logo. A Texas company bought the name/logo and will operate the airline as a cargo carrier with Pass. service in the future.

Ex Pan Amer

[ryandude999]

It's so creepy and eerie to know that all the people on the aeroplane had a horrible end, falling from the sky at such a high rate ... it just makes me feel sick :|

[concorde232]

What a shame! A perfectly flyable plane has to retire!?

[dadsoldtapes]

I believe that Flight 103 was the death knell for Pan Am... people were just too scared to fly them.

[jimdep333]

Thank you jimmy carter for deregulating the airline industry and putting these great airlines (Eastern, National, Pan Am, TWA) out of business. I want to thank you every time I sit next to someone that hasn't showered or used deodorant prior to flight. Thank you for putting the Greyhound bus mentality into the sky. And thanks for the poor service from flight attendants because they've had to deal with their fair share of malcontents over the years and they no longer have reason to smile. THX

[Shipocute]

@jimdep333 Jimmy Carter and Frank Lorenzo. Those two people ripped the true airline service souls...

[vargas37]

Definetely Miaimi. Back when you could park there!!!!!!

[nicebutt2009]

@vargas37 after 9/11 you couldent park there anymore

[11MRKARL]

• Pan Am even assisted the US Army in transporting troops and for the government to turn their back on them and let them declare bankruptcy is a stab in the back. I promise you Pan Am that I will become a frequest flyer to support you and I hope the rest of us who miss you the way my family and I miss you do the same. We love you and the great people, pilots, stewardesses, and other staff, who made our transportation safe. We want you back and we hope you come back. We love you Pan Am.

[chloe7829]

@11MRKARL Amen to your sentiments, Karl. Pan am operated the R&R flights from Vietnam to Singapore, Hongkong and Honolulu for ONE DOLLAR  a year from uncle Sam, that was it!!! Whenever Uncle Same wanted an American carrier to fly into a country for political reasons they turned to PAA and we flew those routes even with empty planes. Thank you uncle for turning your back on Pan Am.

[11MRKARL]

No other airline brings such good memories as Pan Am. I was 14 years old when I came to JFK's aiport from South America with my granny who is now 100 and still kicking. It was so nice to see my family again. Pan Am treated us so nice. My mother cried when Pan Am stopped flying, but I hear they will fly again in 2011. Lets all give Pan Am our support and start flying with them, ok? I feel they were not helped by the US government the way the big car makers werehelped when they declared bankruptcy

[sanitman1]

Latest news. AA stock drops 41% on bankruptcy fears. Maybe Obama will bail them out? Offer piss poor service but to big to fail!!

[sanitman1]

@jetfreak4 the same can be said of UA,AA DC-10's or how about DL's Tristars! Behind on retiring and fleet modernization!!

[jetfreak4]

@sanitman1 That's true, but the difference is that the average fleet ages of UA and AA were much lower than Pan Am's by the end of the 1980s and start of the early 1990s. UA took delivery of numerous 767s, 757s, 747-400s, and second generation 737s to offset their aging classic 747s, 727s, DC-10s, and 737-200s. Pan Am, like TWA, was broke, and my guess is they likely would have ended up with an extremely aged fleet like TWA's had they survived into the mid-1990s.

[sanitman1]

The aircraft filmed is Clipper Nautilus N4703U 122 series,not a 200! From united airlines during the Pacific route transfer! This route aquisition was probably the worst management descision Pan Am ever did! The equivalent of cutting your arm off! Pan Am mangt could not wait for the Asian economic boom that did come a few years later! The sweat and pain it took to develop these routes had Juan Trippe and Charles Lindbergh spinning in their graves! To a airline that well you decide.untied(dot)com

[tomasbobby]

i remember on when flying into sanford orlando seeing pan am jets there, this was in 2005 and 2006. i was supprised to see them, can sombody maybe explain why these planes are still flying under the pan am name

[dutchy1176]

@tomasbobby The company which flew those aircraft,owned the Pan Am brand and had nothing to do with the old Pan Am.They started operations in 2000, and ceased them in 2008.They flew only a handfull of aircraft on a few small domestic routes in there so called " Clipper Connection" program. They had to cease operations because of poor management, and financial problems, and because they were unwilling to follow federal rules and regulations.

[chloe7829]

@tomasbobby A railroad company in Bangor, Maine bought the name and logo and flew small aircraft into small airports, up an down the east coast. But no more, they lost their airworthyness certificate, a Texas Co. bought it and plans to operate cargo flights next year and pass. flights thereafter.

[pcmiler2000]

@chloe7829 For real???

[Hot80s]

There is only one Jumbo.

[xxquiker]

The glam of air travel in the U.S died with this last Pan Am flight

[tonybklyn]

@xxquiker The glamor of air travel died LONG before this flight.

[g1a1r1y3]

@xxquiker

So true. The death of PanAm signaled a change in the industry. Flying used to be an experienced. As a kid, I remember my first commercial flight on PanAm in the mid-80's. I dressed for the flight and I had china and silverware, and an actual meal. I was 3 at the time, but remember the experience clearly.

Now, the sandal-wearing masses are herded aboard, a bag of peanuts or chips, and your choice of soda.

[richdaman71]

@xxquiker I totally agree with you.

[ChinaLake100]

Like this if you miss thw wonderful and luxurious PanAm. I mean picture how it would have been still if PanAm had never closed. Don't worry PanAm, you may not be in the skies anymore, but all of love your wonderful airline.

[jetfreak4]

This video is truly a gem indeed in every sense of the word. If there were ever a true pioneer in aviation, Pan Am would have to be it. The first airline to operate the Boeing 707, the airline that pushed Boeing to develop the 747, the first airline to develop a truly global network on six of the seven continents, one of the airlines that pushed piston propliner and flying boat technology to their zeniths. Pan Am and TWA directly and indirectly made planes and airlines into what they are today.

[MissileMist]

Don't go Shane!

[compdude100]

What's the name of this beauty?

[sanitman1]

@compdude100 Clipper Nautilus

[OpticQ]

@compdude100 pan american 747-200

[TennesseeMX]

Really I like a lot this video... especially because you can hear the roar of the engines and the guy who was recording sayin: " MIRE MAMA MIRE, MIRE MAMA MIRELO (look at it mama, look; look mama look)... //// De verdad me gusta este video especialmente porque puedes oir el rugir de los motores y la voz del chico diciendo Mire mama Mire, mire mama, mirelo....

[prdawg215]

Another great fallen flag. RIP Pan Am

[dutchy1176]

Nothing on today's planes sounds anything like those Pratt & Whitney engines did!!

What an awesome take-off. So swift.

[draco1958]

Best job I ever had... I loved working in aviation back then. I guess it was the place and the airline for me. I started with Pam Am in New York and them transferred to Miami and stayed with the airline until the end. I miss it!!!. It sure was different working at the airport back them too....

[chloe7829]

@draco1958 I too started in NY, then to LAX, HOU and DAL. Total of 20 years. Now I hate to fly and be subjected to lousy service after being subjected to embarrassing TSA checks.

[macapagalkurakot]

never forget my first flight on PAN AM in 1972....miss you!

[ultrafiel9]

What a great video! When i first started watching the video i said to myself it looks like MIA. When i heard you (im assuming its you) mira mama miralo, i was 100% sure it was MIA! jajaja! I love going there (perimeter road) to watch the planes land and take off. Im so glad we have this airport that allows ANY plane to land here, like Lufthansas A380 that flys in and out daily! Excelente video! Para el recuerdo! Cheers!

[germanname1990]

You know, you just have that sad feeling and analogy of Pan Am going to airline heaven like this plane only the plane will come back down while its airline won't. I was only a year old when this video was taken, but now 21, I know how big of an airline it used to be.

[johneddy98033]

@coolharry1236, Pan Am WAS a legendary airline, and the Boeing 747 itself is STILL a legendary aircraft.

[jetfreak4]

Actually, they ordered 25 747s, not 18.

[dutchy1176]

@jetfreak4 why did they continue to buy even more of them after that though? I know the tailnumbers N652-N659PA were ordered later, and N659PA was stored at Boeing's wichita facility until it was finally taken up by Pan Am in 1973. It seems that they weren't doing so well after their first buying binge, in part because of the oil crisis.Yet they continued to buy more 747s.I've always wondered about that.

[jetfreak4]

@dutchy1176 That's a great question I'm not sure I can answer. It's likely due to them being an international airline and the 747 being the only aircraft suited for their long-range routes. Pan Am's greatest weakness as an airline was that they basically lacked a domestic route system. My guess is that also they figured on the economy recovering. These are just guesses though. You might have to ask somebody else besides me.

[dutchy1176]

@jetfreak4 Well, I have asked around about that one, and I never really got an answer. They even bought used 747s as well, like the one in this clip, in the mid 80's, when they weren't doing well either. There could have been a very logical explanation for their buying binges, but as an outsider looking in, I don't think they were being smart...

[jetfreak4]

@dutchy1176 They were probably cheaper alternatives to buying brand new aircraft. TWA did the same thing. In 1996, they added five 747s to their fleet, all of which were -100s and -200s and very old. Pan Am and TWA were basically broke and failed to modernize their fleets.

[sanitman1]

@jetfreak4 This statement simply is false! Although Pan American had Boeing 747-100/200 series,these aircraft (many of them )were modified CRAF(civil reserve air fleet) extending its useful life! During the mid eightys Pan American embarked on fleet modernization! The manufacturer of choice, Airbus Industrie! First with A300 b4 (total delivered 12) then A310 200/300 series(total delivered 24- last one N824PA delivered July 91) The last order for A320's were canceled..

[jetfreak4]

@sanitman1 My point is that compared to AA, UA, and DL, Pan Am was behind on fleet modernization.

[upiluften]

@jetfreak4 Because they were already dying as an airline. If they were in the same (good) financial positions as the aforementioned carriers, they would have had been up-to industry "standards." Silly deregulation.. the one time the government decides to not interfere, and a shit-storm happens.

[jetfreak4]

@upiluften Yes. TWA suffered a very similar fate to Pan Am..the only difference was it had a much stronger route system and network than Pan Am (Pan Am had little in the way of domestic routes), so it took much longer to die. TWA didn't firmly make it a goal to reduce the average age of its fleet and get rid of old aircraft until after Flight 800, which itself was as fatal a blow as the Lockerbie to Pan Am. Even though it completely modernized its fleet in 4 years, it was too little too late.

[upiluften]

@jetfreak4 I think in the case of TWA, terrorism had the largest impact on it's closure.. behind that asshole Carl Icahn-screw-everything.

[jetfreak4]

@upiluften TWA still reported profits as late as 1988. The last terrorist attack on them was 1986. When September 11 occured, TWA had already been bought out by AA.

[Roadracer987654321]

I Flew Pan Am once in april 1971. I still remember that Flight when i was a Small Boy.

[brabazon10]

R.I.P PAA; should never have happened.

[flyingzeto91]

nice fucking video dude!!!!!!!

[unitedlaser]

As a child I used to go to the Airport to look at the Pam Am 747's , I had 747 fever i 1977, It inspire me to study Aero Space Engineering, I wouold never forget the fist time I saw a Pan Am 747, it must been around 1974, and the memory of that moment has remained tatooed in my brain, thare was something about that plane that inspire me to look up with Optimism towards the future and to believe in America in General.

[AllFoamNoBeer]

@unitedlaser AeroSpace is one word.. lol... Engineering..? @ ,Dowling College..? memories of the Worldport at JFnK..!

[sketchyinc]

@unitedlaser 747 is timeles and beautiful, always sad to see one get scrapped!

[waterman1976]

@unitedlaser

and then, we grew up and now realize that we were lied to.

[gloomyoutlook]

@unitedlaser

long gone is Pan Am, and any hope for America's future, lol.

[incheon]

I miss this airline so badly, my first ever flight was on a Pan Am B727! Also my first 747 flight was on Pan Am as well. What a legacy of an airline!!

[tomrimington]

Perimeter Road, near Red Road... Best place to be if the planes are taking off to the east... I am doing a little series on PanAm on my blog: tomrimington.blogspot.com/2011­/03/pan-american-world-airways­-2.html

Check it out...

[cpep747]

speed and power all the way!!!!!!!!!

[cpep747]

you were in the perfect spot to capture the magnitude of the size of the 747 as it lifted off the ground. Your video shows the awesomeness power that airplane has...good work to you too!! Avionics mech. JFK Hangar 19.......Long live the Pan Am Worldport, JFK!!!

[clipper321]

@cpep747 Did you or family work for Pan American? I remember visiting Hangar 19 with my dad many times.

[cpep747]

@clipper321 I worked for Pan Am unfortunately for only three years. I worked at the World Port, Hangar 17 and Hangar 19 my last year there. I was an Avionics Mech. When were you there? Did your dad work at JFK? A movie about the airline is in the works and is scheduled to be aired this comming October. Pan Am was a great place to work even though they didn't survive. They have a tremendous amount of history.

[Starboard76]

Awesome clip, can't believe I'm just finding out about this beauty!

[neweast1]

sad

[coolharry1236]

there goes a legend :(

[VIR092]

It seems only those PAA pilots could make that bird of such mass and power lift off so lightly like a feather. True, for some reason you don't see other aviators today fly the B747 (any model) like those men did! Man, if only I was born twenty years earlier...

[ricardoeldelmustang]

@VIR092 the B747 was, is and will always be the best plane ever made and thats it

[VIR092]

@ricardoeldelmustang Damn right my friend!

[Tharamir3rd]

@VIR092 Actually looks like a normal 747 take off to me. Much more inspiring was Concorde of course. A far greater technical achievment. Ah the blurrred eyes of nostalgia... Sad about the airline of course, too much experience I guess.

[VIR092]

@Tharamir3rd Well it sort of depends on how you lable a "normal takeoff". I would have to day the three most inspiring aircraft were the Concorde (of course) the Boeing SP and the TU-144 with it's moustache.

No doubt the SST was an enormous accomplishment in aerospace but you have got to admit, the old Jumbo's were once the pinnacle of advanced aicraft.

PAA was an honorable carrier.

[onecunningfox]

An absolute GEM! Thanks for the memory....it actually made me cry.

[bitukukuasukgremany3]

Thank you that cool

[dmnddog74]

Geez, I miss that airline. I hate flying now.

[bagelboi66]

@dmnddog74 They were our airline of choice for family vacations. I miss Pan Am too. Flying was still fun then. It's sheer bloody torture now.

[PlanTonto]

@bagelboi66 It was ours also. My grandpa was Spanish and he hated Iberia Airlines. He said it was one of the worst arilines in the world and he loved Pan Am. I still have one of his Pan Am bags and will always treasure it. When he couldn't get Pan Am for any reason, he would fly TWA. One of my best memories was flying to Spain on Pan Am and the movie Cabaret had just come out and all the Stewardesses (yes!) dressed like in Cabaret! I was 9 years old..

[grecarji]

THANKS FOR THE VIDEO, SO SAD, BUT GOOD MEMORIES, RI PAN AM WE MISS YOU