That they used to give to kids who fly.

Gifts they would give you to keep you entertained. this was mostly in the 1970s and early 1980s.

For me - it's just history - of places I traveled. I read at the collegiate level when I was 8 - so imagine my ability to put pen to paper at five. My parents encouraged me to keep travel journals and so I did. However, I also kept all of my souvenirs in this tiny 'steamer' trunk. That stuff is in there along with my travel journals growing up.

That stuff would go for big bucks at flea markets and nostalgia fairs.

I have a German friend who deals in just that kind of 'memorabilia'.

and a sky blue Pan Am bag.

Small little planes (the matchbox car size ones), wings, and then this coloring book with 4 crayons. I also have a scarf I conned out of one of the flight attendants when we were flying unaccompanied (my brother and me) - I must have been about 7 going out to California?

(ETA - the coloring book and crayons are still in the plastic sealed bag).

That drinks cart looks a little off brand, too. All in all, though, it's a good effort!


Found a blog post from an old Pan Am FA....I have a relative who started out with them, towards the end of their days, and moved on to other airlines...

http://alwayslookingabove.blogspot.com/2012/03/airline-grooming-policies.html


Here's another "old days" article (referencing the tv show that was on all too briefly):

http://www.glamour.com/fashion/blogs/dressed/2011/10/a-real-life-panam-stewardess-o

of this attraction. Like they say, 'It wasn't a job, it was a way of life.'

Thanks for the links.

element probably got a little tiresome after a while--ads like that didn't help, I'm sure! In US markets, they've stopped that stuff, pretty much, but some foreign airlines still sell their product with a suggestion that their flight attendants are "on the menu" as it were.

It's a tough job with a lot of responsibility--any aircrew job is, but when you've got hundreds of people in your little narrow tube it requires a varied skillset! I admire flight attendants for their professionalism and infinite patience.

Here's one that makes one throw up a bit:



http://thesocietypages.org/socimages/2011/02/17/selling-feminine-passivity-in-a-cathay-airlines-ad/

funny, because they were all very mature women...

Pan Am, Braniff.

I flew to South America on Braniff (we got passes!)...those days they still had propellered aircraft (!) and it took forever...I remember
looking down on the Brazilian jungle and over the Andes...quite a wonder...

Those days are long gone!

It was still fun to fly then...not now, though.

and wine to put you to sleep going over the pond...I take half a low dose ambien and no wine...

I remember going for a flight of about an hour and if it was noon, they gave you a full lunch...no matter how far you were going.

them are owned by one big company...

The only thing I just can't manage any more is the schedule coming back if I don't fly directly to JFK...layovers and then a 9 hour flight back (sometimes 10 with delays) and then the long limo ride to New Haven just kills me. I'm going to Spain in early November and it's in and out of Madrid. Perfect...

Been to Madrid once...it's a city that loves to party!

Moorish inspired architecture: Seville, Granada and Cordoba...

In 1981 JFKFRAJFK. Worst flights and service I have ever experienced. (I am a retired 30 year airline employee.)

The planes both coming and going were filthy. Bifs were broken and out of service. Flight attendants served some awful slop right after take off. And we NEVER SAW THEM AGAIN. No snack for bfast no water no oj no coffee. I have flown on hundreds of flight and never seen anything remotely close to the service on these two flights. Granted I was in steerage, however it was awful for steerage.

Granted 1981 was not their heyday but the product I experienced was only memorable for it's awfulness.

I remember the cabin crew seemed awfully pissed.

But is was back in the Stone Age. What I really remember was how bad the flights were.

Was it the idyllic flying nirvana that many people wax nostalgic about? Not really. But it was still a hundred times better than anything we have today.

The thing I remember most was my little sister getting upset because I was allowed to visit the cockpit and she wasn't (she was apparently too young or something). The head stewardess (and yes, they were still stewardesses then) came over and asked if she'd like to help out the cabin crew instead. They gave her a hat, and she spent half the flight to Australia walking along with the cabin crew, handing out drinks and "assisting" as they handed out food, blankets, and other items to the passengers (which, since she was four, was seen as adorably cute by the other passengers). When she was done, not only was she given a stewardess pin, but the captain came back and thanked her for being a member of his crew (she'd taken him a drink at one point) and gave her a pair of wings as well.

I simply cannot imagine something like that happening on an airline today. It really was a different era.

Pan Am Has 90,002 Reservations : Public Interest Grows in Flights to the Moon:
http://articles.latimes.com/1985-02-10/business/fi-3559_1_public-interest

Pan Am moon-flight reservations program was established in 1968, the same year 2001: A Space Odyssey was released. Coincidence?

wonder if he got some of the 2 million plus Pan Am travel bags they handed out. I worked for the company that made them. We had a two million bag order, got sick of seeing them. Lots of them repopped out there but they weren't the same Pan Am had a cloth on vinyl fabric.

flea market or on e-bay!

When people ask me what brought me to America I always say "Pan Am".

I also flew TWA back then and British Airways. Now I only fly British Airways to London. The food (on the return flight anyway) and service is fantastic.

you're never sure whether you'll get an American Airlines plane or British.

Last time, I got AA. Uuuggghhh!

KLM brought me to Europe back in the day!

I fly Seattle/Heathrow. When I came back in October, on a very early morning flight, the plane was only about 25% full and we were told to "spread out" I had a whole row to myself. The vegetarian meal was delicious.

Haven't had that in a long time.