"Pan Am"

[BE911SC]

Originally Posted by cairns

Fly international first class on virtually any airline (not business first or business elite) but on a three class airline and the food, service and amenities are unmatched. Singapore and Emirates will blow your socks off. United, BA and others are far nicer than you can imagine.

How much does it cost? What do you pay for that ticket and level of service?

I agree that flying today does not always "suck." I love going to work, even in the Low Cost era. I love seeing passengers come aboard because no matter what, flying somewhere on an airliner is exciting for most people. I applied to the cargo carriers and would have been happy to fly there but I am happier to fly people. Yes, the passenger business may be more volatile than flying boxes around the world but I like watching people walk off the plane saying thank-you. Nothing beats seeing excited little kids walking off the jet at Orange County on their way to Disneyland.

[Rick Lee]

Lufthansa is always great. Love those guys. I flew Air China to Shanghai last time and that was barely a step up from a cargo plane. But at least they are lax about the smoke detectors going off in the lavatories. No Chinese man can go that long without a smoke.

[island911]

Originally Posted by BE911SC

...
6. In the first episode, on takeoff roll, the pilots look at each other at about 120 knots and gay-ly smile. BWA-HA-HA-HA!!! Even my wife cracked-up at that one.

....

BWA-HA-HA-HA!!! was exactly my reaction too....


Reminded me of a scene in the very campy/funny movie OSS 117 (a parody of James Bond 007)

(at ~ 2:49 ...or the even gayer scene @ 7:33)

[masraum]

Originally Posted by VINMAN

Anyone watch that new tv show, "Pan Am"? Watched the first two episodes.

Pretty depressing to realize what air travel has evolved to.

( or should I say "devolved.....)



.

I think what needs to be remembered was that back in the day, I think the folks that traveled by air were pretty much the rich and privileged. Anyone and everyone on the plane paid first class fairs.

If every seat on the planes these days were first class and they all had the associated cost, things would be different, but a lot of us wouldn't know it because we may have never been on a plane. We'd all be hanging in tiny rooms below decks on a crappy ship hoping the capt didn't ram us into an iceberg.

[Wilywilly]

The TV show is cute and brings back some memories. Lived in Honolulu in the late 60's and 70's and Honolulu was a stop for their international flights to and from the West Coast to Japan. You couldn't get on one of their flights in Honolulu unless you were flying West internationally. Some sort of gate rules at the airport. Lots of stewardess's layed over (stayed, laid) in Waikiki hotels for two nites. I flew Pan Am maybe 20 times from Miami to Rio and back in the late 80"s before they went Bankrupt and Delta bought them and then trashed them. At least they rolled the Pan Am miles over to Delta miles. Always flew First Class, the stewardess's were in their late 30's early 40's then but still attractive. Food was excellent. Started with Beluga caviar and ended with a Vintage Port with walnuts, dates and Pear slices after the baked Alaska. I think the ticket cost about 7 big ones for late bookers which I always did. Damn plans left Miami a little after midnite and 10 hours later had a full day in Rio, amazing place.

[cairns]

How much does it cost? What do you pay for that ticket and level of service?

If you have to ask....

A typical round trip (full fare) first class airfare from LAX or IAD/SFO/JFK to SYD, NRT, HKG etc. is between $16 and $18K. Business will run $8 to $10K. Coach could be $3k or less.

But when I've flown either my company paid for it or we used FF miles (my wife and I have roughly 2M now). I've never paid full fare out of my pocket but I've frequently paid for discounted first, business or coach. Those fares are cheaper than you think- my wife and I recently flew first Dulles to Munich first class UA for $2,200 per seat RT. You get a pretty good nights sleep and you earn miles for a lot less than walk up first class (probably about $8 to $10K for that trip).

Believe me most people sitting up front aren't paying for it themselves or are paying discounted fares- they're like me. Or they're movie stars/celebrities/really rich and older etc. who don't have the scratch for a private jet.

And there are plenty of people who aren't wealthy at all who do mileage runs (i.e. take advantage of discounted circuitious routes) to earn enough FF miles to sit up front. I've done it myself to retain status some years. (Status allows you to double your FF miles when you fly).

This Winter I hope to fly Singapore to Singapore, on to Bangkok, go to ****et, Vietnam or somewhere for a vacation, then take Thai to London or Frankfurt and then home (to Dulles/IAD). We'll either use miles, buy discount or both but we aren't going to fly coach except on short legs like Bangok to Hanoi or something like that. It's a game really.

I think what needs to be remembered was that back in the day, I think the folks that traveled by air were pretty much the rich and privileged.

For sure. You even wore a suit. If you were a kid you could go to the cockpit and they'd give you "wings". And you could even sit in the cockpit. But this was long before deregulation and terrorists. My little brother and I used to fly Atlanta to Charlotte and would run up and down the aisle and no one cared. Delta would run an empty DC-8 on that route. I vividly remeber my first flight (from Columbia SC to Tacoma, Washington- A DC-3 made numerous stops to Chicago (Piedmont as I recall). In Chicago the very first Pan Am 707 was doing flight tests and all the passengers (including me) moved to one side to see it (we were taxiing at the time). Then a DC-7C direct to Tacoma- Northwest Airlines.

[flatbutt]

Originally Posted by cairns

I don't agree flying sucks now. I flew on Pan Am in early 1970 (coach) and the service was reprehensible. The food was awful. They wouldn't even give any water to the women behind us and this was after five hours of waiting on the ground. First class accomodations were no better than today's outdated (non flat bed) business- and this was a 747-100.

Fly international first class on virtually any airline today (not business first or business elite) but on a three class airline and the food, service and amenities are unmatched. Singapore and Emirates will blow your socks off. United, BA and others are far nicer than you can imagine. And yes even coach on a lot of airlines offers far more than they used to. You can upgrade to a coach seat that offers far more legroom than you got in the 70s. And airlines are starting to offer fold down seats that equal a bed- in coach! Check out Air New Zealand.

Getting through the airport may suck, security may suck but I've experienced few things as luxurious as international first class. I wish I could do it more often.

.

uh-huh...first class...right....as if the bulk of travelers can pay a few grand to fly.

[cairns]

uh-huh...first class...right....as if the bulk of travelers can pay a few grand to fly.

While I don't appreciate the tone of your response allow me to answer politely.

The bulk can't or won't. Many don't have enough money. Most aren't willing to take the time (and lesser $) to do mileage runs and earn enough FF miles or search out discounted fares or just plain spend their money that way. But there are many- I've met them- and I really am one because I'm not at all rich- who save up and do a trip like that every few years.

It depends on how you want to spend your money. You could spend $3K on a set of wheels and tires for your Porsche. Or you could spend $3K and go to Europe or Asia while sitting up front.

As I said it's a game. Especially if you're not wealthy. Go here: http://www.flyertalk.com/ to see how it's played.

IMO we're incredibly lucky to be able to go to destinations that our parents and grandparents could only dream about- and they had to pay prices they couldn't have begun to afford even if they saved their whole lives- and we can do it in hours or days rather than weeks or months. I love to travel and want to take advantage of that- but there are plenty of people who never leave their own state and could care less, who would consider a first class seat an absolute waste of money if not the trip itself. And I'm awfully glad that I'm lucky enough to not be so poor that I can't travel.

[Joeaksa]

Originally Posted by stevepaa

I was there at the umbrella in 1969 working for PAA. My wife also worked for PAA. My aunt was a 'stew' for PAA in germany in the 50's and my uncle was PAA maintenance mgr at Templehof. I have a picture of him having drinks with Lindbergh. It does bring back a lot of memories. The men all wore suits and hats. The prime rib was cooked on board and sliced individually. Linen and silverware and real glassware.

Steve,

We should talk sometime. I was based at Tempelhof and did some work for PanAm back there. Have a LOT of memoriabilia from that era and things that are pretty hard to get ahold of...

Like the 7-8 foot globe that hung on the wall inside Tempelhof Airport from Pan Am showing their routings all over the world? I tried to get it back to Miami when PA started going down and it did not make it. While sitting at their ops in Tegel the Lufthansa people broke it in 4 pieces and put it in the dumpster. Friends of mine called me and we rescued it. Someday I will try to restore it...

Joe A

[Joeaksa]

Originally Posted by slakjaw

Dude ur mom is HOT

The question is... is she single!

[Joeaksa]

Originally Posted by BE911SC

As an airline pilot and airline hobby-historian I laughed out-loud during the first episode of Pan Am.

3. Not enough sexual harassment on the TV show. Male passengers grabbed ass constantly. The pilots, often married, grabbed and slapped a lot of stew asses back then. Yeah, some of the girls liked it but many did not.

Having crabbed about it, it's still kinda' fun to watch the show and at least have a good laugh at some of it. Obviously "Pan Am" is a HEAVY dose of revisionist history, just as the very good "Mad Men" series is, but as escapism TV it's fun so far.

My current Flight Attendent was with Eastern for 37 years. She was trained in the old "white glove" era. Funny the things that she tells us at times about flying back then.

The stews would come on board the jet as a group and after stowing their bags would go to the cockpit and look it over. She said that they ALWAYS made it a point of saying "you are mine this rotation" to the pilots and they paired off for their 3-4 day legs. Course almost everyone was single back then but it sure sounded like fun... not like today!

[Zeke]

Originally Posted by slakjaw

Dude ur mom is HOT

No doubt. To think that I think that I would have found her in that era, I could be Rick's dad.

The show is boring. I made it maybe to the 1st commercial break. If it gets as good as Mad Men, let me know. But, I only watched a half dozen of those in the 1st season. Then they lost me.

[DonDavis]

Uh, last I checked, it's a sitcom/drama/dramedy TV show. Not a documentary, so, to all you "haters" I say "Lighten up, Francis".

[flatbutt]

Originally Posted by cairns

While I don't appreciate the tone of your response allow me to answer politely.

The bulk can't or won't. Many don't have enough money. Most aren't willing to take the time (and lesser $) to do mileage runs and earn enough FF miles or search out discounted fares or just plain spend their money that way. But there are many- I've met them- and I really am one because I'm not at all rich- who save up and do a trip like that every few years.

It depends on how you want to spend your money. You could spend $3K on a set of wheels and tires for your Porsche. Or you could spend $3K and go to Europe or Asia while sitting up front.

As I said it's a game. Especially if you're not wealthy. Go here: FlyerTalk - The world's most popular frequent flyer community to see how it's played.

IMO we're incredibly lucky to be able to go to destinations that our parents and grandparents could only dream about- and they had to pay prices they couldn't have begun to afford even if they saved their whole lives- and we can do it in hours or days rather than weeks or months. I love to travel and want to take advantage of that- but there are plenty of people who never leave their own state and could care less, who would consider a first class seat an absolute waste of money if not the trip itself. And I'm awfully glad that I'm lucky enough to not be so poor that I can't travel.

Permit me to apologize for my tone. It was uncalled for.

[Buckterrier]

Was wondering if anyone was going to start a thread on the show. Haven't watched it but have a story about that era & P/A.
Flew into North Carolina on business a few years ago and met my contacts for lunch. An older but still very attractive waitress came over. I said I had just flown in and she said she used to be a stewardess for P/A. She said they used to actually give couples blankets & pillows to 'join the mile high club'. Said the parking lots were full of Benz' BMW etc. yes very glamourous.
But... She also said that when P/A went belly up they left flight crews where they were. If you were in London you had to find your own way home. People pulled together to get friends & colleagues home. Others committed suicide.
Don't know how true it all was but there was no reason not to believe her.

[MarkRobinson]

Gotta watch it for Christina Ricci & the other hot chick alone: hard to take my eyes off them.

[9dreizig]

Costs of first/business class.. I just booked round trip Reno/Munich/Boston for$1400
Went round trip Lax/Taipei earlier this year for $1300
Business class for those trips would have been an addition $800-$5000 with first being out of this world.
This is my money but even if it were a companies it's stupid money.. Couldn't ever justify the big bucks..
Really how much is your time worth $5000 for a few hours sleep.. I get a prescription for Ambien.. couple cocktails, dinner and I'm out for 12 hours.. (and I don't naturally sleep well on a plane)..

What's the difference between a flight attendant and a stewardess ???

about 30 lbs....

[BE911SC]

Originally Posted by MarkRobinson

Gotta watch it for Christina Ricci & the other hot chick alone: hard to take my eyes off them.

I am in lust with the French stew. I told my wife she needs to learn some bedroom French. OUI! OUI! OHHHH OUIIIIII!!!!

[BE911SC]

Originally Posted by 9dreizig

What's the difference between a flight attendant and a stewardess ???

about 30 lbs....

And 30 birthday candles on the cake.

[porsche4life]

Great, now another show I'm waiting for the next episode to be available online....