Originally Posted by
3Cforme
Pan Am's flights of the 30s were direct but not non-stop: stops in eastern Canada and/or Newfoundland (a decade before it was part of Canada
) and/or Ireland were required between NYC and the U.K.
I may be wrong -- it's certainly happened before -- but I believe the Boeing 314 flying boat (the classic "Clipper") that Pan Am introduced into trans-Atlantic service in 1939 could do the eastbound NYC to Southampton non-stop, although a Canada or Newfoundland refueling stop was required on the westbound return legs.