Pan Am gets new life with airport lounges planned — and a luxury, history-rich trip

01.08.2024 - 15:24 / thepointsguy.com / John F.Kennedy / Pan Usa / Pan Am

Next June, a Boeing 757 will take off from New York City's John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK), donning the unmistakable logo of Pan American World Airways — "blue meatball" and all.

No, it's not a just-for-looks retro livery paying homage to the historic American carrier, which is most closely associated with the Golden Age of Aviation.

The flight will, technically, be operated by Pan Am itself.

How's that possible, you might ask? And in other words ... Is Pan Am back?

Well, it sort of is.

Thirty-three years after the airline last ferried passengers around the world (with legendary service that is still fondly remembered), the brand — among the best-known in aviation history — is getting a second lease on life, in a way.

As part of this second act, you could enjoy a preflight beverage at a Pan Am airport lounge in the not-too-distant future.

In February, a group of investors purchased the Pan Am brand, and they have big plans to bring the name back to the forefront of aviation.

To be clear, you won't see an actual Pan Am airline rise from the historic carrier's ashes.

"We have no desire to start regularly scheduled services," said Craig Carter, who can now legitimately call himself the CEO of Pan American World Airways — a title once held by the airline's founder, aviation pioneer Juan Trippe.

No, Carter said, it wouldn't be feasible to replicate the level of service that Trippe's Pan Am was known for — from its far-flying, surprisingly luxurious Boeing 314 Clipper flying boats to the legacy his successors carried through much of the 20th century.

"In light of deregulation, you really can't bring Pan Am back to that particular type of era and honor it well with those iconic routes in an era we're in," Carter said to TPG in his first major interview since taking over the brand.

But come next summer, Pan Am's livery — and, in many ways, its legacy — will be on full display.

Now a full-scale travel company, the new Pan Am (officially Pan Am Global Holdings, LLC) is collaborating with two luxury travel agencies on a 12-day voyage in 2025. The voyage will honor the airline's heritage and also retrace its historic route map.

The Pan Am-decorated Boeing 757 aircraft will depart from JFK on June 27, 2025, and fly to Europe.

Operated by tour company Bartelings, the journey promises to be anything but a regular transatlantic trip.

For starters, the entire jet features business-class-style lie-flat seats on a Boeing 757 leased from Icelandair; in the past, TPG got a look at the comfort of a similar jet used by another major tour company.

The itinerary is closely designed to follow the routes of Pan Am's 1920s network of international Clipper flying boats (amphibious aircraft that could take off and land