Take a Flight Back to the 1970s With Pan Am
Joe Cortez March 26, 2018
If you never experienced Pan Am’s luxury at the airline’s height, there’s still an opportunity to “fly” one of their famous Clippers with both feet on the ground. The Pan Am Experience at Air Hollywood is an experience where actors offer a four-hour experience authentic to the Pan Am name – from the 1970’s uniforms to the five-course meal.
For flyers who never experienced the luxury of flying aboard a Pan Am World Airways “Clipper,” or want to relive the classic aviation experience, one film studio wants to make your dreams a reality. The Pan Am Experience at the Air Hollywood studios is a regular event that allows flyers to experience a four-hour Pan Am “flight” from New York to London aboard a replica Boeing 747.
FlyerTalk took the Pan Am Experience in 2015, but the show has improved over the last three years. Ticketed flyers start at the Pan Am ticket desk, which leads them to the Clipper Club for pre-flight drinks. During “boarding,” you are seated in one of three classes: the Upper Deck Lounge with swivel chairs at dining tables, Main Deck First Class with “Sleeperette” seats, or the Clipper Cabin Dining Room featuring business-class seating at dining tables.
During “flight,” flyers are served by actors in Pan Am uniforms, all trained by former Pan Am staff. The experience includes a safety briefing, fashion show of historic uniforms, trivia and music from the era. All the while, passengers are served with prop cigarettes from the cigarette cart, along with a five-course meal authentic to the previous Pan Am menus.
“Everything is exactly identical and exactly what 1970 used to be like,” Talaat Captan, CEO of Air Hollywood, told the Associated Press. “It’s just non-stop entertainment and that’s why people keep coming back and bringing their family and friends.”
After the “flight,” flyers are treated to a tour of the Air Hollywood studio lot and information about some of their advocacy programs for the aviation industry. If you are interested in “flying” Pan Am, buy your tickets early: the May 2018 experience is already sold out, but (as of press time) tickets are available for the June 2018 experience. Tickets start at $475 per pair.
[Photo: Shutterstock]
My last flight on PanAm (747 trans-Atlantic in the 1980s a few months before Lockerbie) was determined when the flight attendant was asked if on-board duty-free purchases were available and her response was "I don't get paid to do that."
I flew Pan Am economy in the 70s and it was the pits. Swiss Miss for desert. I also flew First and it was nothing compared to today's seating. However the meals did include Lobster which was quite nice. The lounge was nice but no different than today.
Or, for the same $475, you can buy a ticket for an actual flight somewhere and bring your own food.
including smoking?