The Pan Am Experience

Experience an Authentic Pan American Flight at Air Hollywood

Based in Los Angeles, Air Hollywood is the world's largest aviation-themed film studio. Since 1998, the company has provided airplane sets and props for several movies and TV shows, including The Wolf of Wall Street and Bridesmaids. Air Hollywood provides several other services, such as a program for people afraid of flying called FearlessFlight, a public service for special needs travelers called Open Sky for Autism, and an air travel training program for service dogs called K9 Flight School. However, its Pan Am Experience only gained popularity after model Chrissy Teigen celebrated her 32nd birthday Pan Am-style.

So, what inspired the Pan Am Experience? The iconic Pan American Airways1, of course! Pan Am, which operated from 1927 to 1991, was first established to fly mail from Key West, Fla., to Havana, Cuba, during World War I, but the airline began flying passengers between these two cities the next year. In 1936, Pan Am launched the first transpacific flights from San Francisco to Manila and then commenced the first transatlantic flights from New York City to Lisbon in 1939. Several years later, in 1947, Pan Am was the first to have round-the-world flights, going eastbound from New York to New York. The popular airline reached its peak between 1970 and 1980 before eventually going bankrupt in 1991. Before its demise, Pan Am set the bar high for air travel by serving Parisian-inspired meals midflight on tables set with linen tablecloth and fine china, comfortable seats with generous space in between, and an upstairs first class section.

Piloting a Modern Pan Am Flight

Founded by Anthony Toth, the Pan Am Experience began in his California garage in 2007 with a few of his close friends. Toth eventually moved the experience to a warehouse, where he constructed the complete interior of a Boeing 747-200. In 2013, Toth met Talaat Captan, the founder and CEO of Air Hollywood, and they officially licensed use of the Pan Am name. With Captan's help, Toth made some improvements by adding central air conditioning, LED lighting, and the Clipper Lounge. The Pan Am Experience officially launched on October 18, 2014, with 32 guests who flew in from all around the world. Today, the Pan Am Experience takes flight every Saturday, and spots fill up quickly – it's currently sold out through December 2019!

Guests can choose from three "classes" when partaking in the Pan Am Experience: Clipper Cabin Dining Room, Main Deck First Class, and Upper Deck Lounge. Tickets are sold in pairs and range from $475 to $875.

When arriving at the studio, guests "check in" at retro Pan Am airline counters and receive paper boarding passes, luggage tags, and postcards that are as close to the originals as possible. Once they are on board, guests can enjoy an open bar, soft drinks, coffee, tea, and port wine while flipping through authentic Time magazines from the 1970s and "puffing" on prop cigarettes that give off odorless, fake smoke.

"Passengers" in all three classes begin with a bread and shrimp cocktail or caprese salad as a starter, although the Upper Deck Lounge class also includes a caviar appetizer. The entrée consists of Chateaubriand, carved tableside from a trolley, with various vegetables and roasted potatoes. For guests with dietary restrictions, a roasted chicken with peppercorn sauce or a vegetarian pasta dish can be requested before "boarding." Following dinner, a fruit, cheese, and biscuit platter is offered, along with a dessert cart that has chocolate cake and fruit tarts.

Fueling Up for the Pan Am Experience

Throughout the 4-hour "flight," the staff provides different forms of entertainment2, starting with a safety demo (though there's no need to actually fasten seatbelts, of course). Flight attendants put on fashion shows between courses, wearing original stewardess uniforms from the late 50s to 1991. As the night winds down, a game of Pan Am trivia begins; the winner receives a prize from the duty-free cart, which sells Pan Am-licensed products from the 70s, such as perfume and cologne.

After the plane has "landed," guests can take an optional tour of various production sets at Air Hollywood, such as the original cockpit from Airplane! and props from the show Lost.

Authenticity Takes Flight

Toth and Captan have worked hard to make the experience as accurate as possible by hiring a former Pan Am stewardess named Barbara Norberg to train the "flight attendants" on every tiny detail, from uniform code and etiquette to meal presentation and cabin service.

In addition to Norberg teaching the stewardesses Pan Am history, Toth puts his memorabilia to use by serving the meals on authentic china dishes and antique utensils used on the original Pan American airline. The entire "plane" is constructed of original Pan Am airplane parts that Toth found at a junk yard. To complete the Pan Am Experience, the company enforces a strict cocktail attire dress code; jeans, flip flops, sneakers, shorts, and T-shirts are highly discouraged.

These details might seem small to some, but they mean everything to the people who used to live and breathe Pan Am decades ago. Many former flight attendants and family members who visit the venue become emotional as memories rush back to them. Norberg says3 the experience is "so real" that turbulence is the only thing missing.

If you want to buy your own ticket and board a modern Pan Am "flight," just remember to book far in advance and dust off your vintage 70s garb for a truly immersive experience.

Resources

  1. Pan American World Airways, Inc. Britannica. Accessed July 2021.
  2. Relive the Golden Age of Travel With the Pan Am Experience in LA. Johnny Jet. Accessed July 2021.
  3. How One Pan Am Fan Recreated the Golden Age of Air Travel. Atlas Obscura. Accessed July 2021.