Pan Am used to be THE Airline to fly in the US and abroad. Unfortunately the airline folded just as I was starting to fly for business, so I never flew with them
The airline was founded in 1927 flying air mail between Key West, Fl. and Havana Cuba. Pam Am was noted for adding the name "clipper" to their aircraft. This can be traced to when they had a fleet of "flying boats" prior to the Jet Age. Pam Am developed a huge network between the US, Central and South America. Europe and Asia also developed. Their main competitor prior to the jet age was TWA, another airline that has disappeared.
In the jet age Pan Am continued to grow. It built and opend the Pan Am Building in NYC (now the MetLife Building, and a new state-of-the-art terminal at JFK Airport. The airline was the launch customer of the mighty Boeing 747 with its first commercial flight in 1970. The 1973 oil crisis was the first blow to Pan Am with over capacity. Pan Am lack of a large domestic network also hurt their growth. Pam Am tried to merge with several airlines in the 1970's, but Congress blocked each attempt.
After deregulation in 1978, Pan Am tried to merge again, this time with Northwest Airlines, but it ended in a bidding war that Pam Am lost. This continued to erode the dominance of Pan Am. Slowly Pam Am started to sell off routes
The killing blow to Pam Am occured over Lockerbie, Scotland on Decemebr 21st 1988. Pan Am Flight 103, a Boeing 747, was blown up and crashed. A total of 270 people were killed, including 11 on the ground. A 1 lb plastic explosive had been detonated on board.
In early 1991, Pan Am declared Bankruptcy. Delta Airlines purchased most of Pan Am's profitable assets. By the end of 1991 Pan Am was no more with a full shutdown of remaining operations. The Pan Am named tried to come back as a airline a few times, but it never quite made it. Guilford Transportation purchased the name and now there is a railroad based in Maine called Pan Am Railways. A sad end to a once mightly airline.