The Pan Am Podcast

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. The investigation took place under exceptionally difficult conditions in the jungle, and the exact cause of the crash was never established. However, it was theorized based on an examination of the wreckage that the number two engine had separated in flight after propeller blade failure and debris likely penetrated the fuselage causing a catastrophic in-flight breakup.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 past twenty-five years.Barbara  resides in San Francisco.--------------------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, 

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.--------------------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, Twitter and YouTube!The Pan Am Museum Foundation is a non-profit 501(c)3 organization. --------------------A very special thanks to Mr. Adam Aron, CEO of AMC Entertainment Holdings, Inc., and  Pan Am Brands for their continued and unwavering support! 

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.comA 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. Captain Marshall is featured in:"Episode 2: The First Presidential Flight and the Last Pan Am Flight""Episode 11: The Legacy Endures 30 Years After Closing, A Conversation with Ed Trippe""Episode 15: Pan Am International Flight Academy and Stories From the Flight Deck"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)--------------------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, Twitter and YouTube!

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.--------------------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, Twitter and YouTube!The Pan Am Museum Foundation is a non-profit 501(c)3 organization. If you liked the show,  please consider becoming a museum member.--------------------A very special thanks to Mr. Adam Aron, CEO of AMC Entertainment Holdings, Inc., and  Pan Am Brands for their continued and unwavering support! 

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/TQSO9mNgZcwHere'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 USAAeropace Bristol,  Bristol, England UKThe Museum of Flight,  Seattle, WA USASmithsonian National Air & Space Museum,  Washington, D.C. USA --------------------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! The Pan Am Museum Foundation is a non-profit 501(c)3 organization. --------------------A very special thanks to Pan Am Brands for their continued, and unwavering, support! --------------------If you liked the show,  please consider becoming a museum member.

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. --------------------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! The Pan Am Museum Foundation is a non-profit 501(c)3 organization. --------------------A very special thanks to Pan Am Brands for their continued, and unwavering, support! --------------------If you liked the show,  please consider becoming a museum member.--------------------The four movie themes are under thirty seconds in compliance with fair use copyright. Music Credits:The James Bond Theme,  Monty Norman & John BarryTheme from Indiana Jones, John WilliamsTheme from Blade Runner, VangelisTheme from 2001: A Space Odyssey,  Richard Strauss 

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 GreenbaumMari AsaiSachiko HiranoChristine EkelundMiguel Torrech PereMarilyn LukerCarol ThomasAysel Sarp BuckLuisa Garcia FloodPlease visit the International Tenerife Memorial page for more information: https://www.tenerife-memorial.org/en/.  

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. 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! --------------------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.The Pan Am Museum Foundation is a non-profit 501(c)3 organization. All proceeds from purchases and donations go to supporting the museum's mission:"To educate, celebrate, and inspire present, and future generations by preserving historical and diverse personal stories of Pan American World Airways."--------------------A very special thanks to Pan Am Brands for their continued, and unwavering, support! --------------------If you liked the show,  please consider becoming a museum member.

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. --------------------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.---------------------------------------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! --------------------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.The Pan Am Museum Foundation is a non-profit 501(c)3 organization. All proceeds from purchases and donations go to supporting the museum's mission:"To educate, celebrate, and inspire present, and future generations by preserving historical and diverse personal stories of Pan American World Airways."--------------------A very special thanks to Pan Am Brands for their continued, and unwavering, support! --------------------If you liked the show,  please consider becoming a museum member.

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.--------------------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.---------------------------------------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! --------------------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.The Pan Am Museum Foundation is a non-profit 501(c)3 organization. All proceeds from purchases and donations go to supporting the museum's mission:"To educate, celebrate, and inspire present, and future generations by preserving historical and diverse personal stories of Pan American World Airways."--------------------A very special thanks to Pan Am Brands for their continued, and unwavering, support! --------------------If you liked the show,  please consider becoming a museum member.