Blue Skies for Pan Am
Since acquiring the assets of Pan Am this summer through a plan of reorganization, Guilford’s principals have taken steps to grow the famous airline pioneer and build a sound foundation for the future.
Pan Am emerged from bankruptcy on June 29 when Judge A. Jay Cristol signed the confirmation order stating, “On behalf of the spirit, or the ghost, of the original Pan Am that spirit is out there, and salutes all of you and wishes you well and hopes you’ll keep the Pan Am name flying.” The Judge then invited Tim Mellon to the bench and presented him with a Pan Am Boeing 727 model declaring, “Let’s get in the air!” to the cheers of a packed courtroom.
Just as trains are built to roll, planes are made to fly and that’s what the blue and white jet “Clippers” have been doing in charter service. Operating for such customers as Air Aruba and Air Jamaica, Pan Am has been supplying flights for airlines which have scheduled service but due to a shortage of aircraft cannot use their own equipment. Rather than cancel flights, the airlines seek the services of other certified carriers to bail them out and protect their passengers.
This “sub-service” operation is priced on an hourly “Block” hour basis, from the time the aircraft leaves the gates at the origin to the time it arrives at the destination. Pan Am supplies the aircraft, crew, maintenance and insurance, thus this form of charter is also referred to as “ACMI.”
Pan Am Vice President - Operations Robert Mencel has high praise for his Ft. Lauderdale-based team of nearly 100 airlines professionals. “We are very proud of our linkage to Guilford, a company respected for its commitment to safety and service. These are two principles which also govern the airlines industry and can never be compromised.