Pan Am Cleared for Takeoff
When you think of Pan Am it is not likely you would associate the name with a railroad, but in 1931 the connection might have been more familiar. For in 1931 Boston-Maine Airways, which was created by the Maine Central and Boston and Maine Railroads, entered into a mail delivery contract with Pan American. Just a few years after a Pan American World Airways Fokker trimotor plane took off on the airline’s first flight from Key West to Havana, Pan Am brought commercial aviation to northern New England by flying mail between Boston and Halifax.
The history of the Maine Central and Boston and Maine Railroads’ involvement with the airline industry, the development of what is now Logan airport and with the creation of innovative air services is a subject for later issues. The future of Pan Am, however, recently took a turn back to its roots with the announcement that Guilford’s principals have entered into an agreement to purchase the airline. Completion of the sale is subject to approval by U.S. Bankruptcy Judge A. Jay Cristol of a reorganization plan filed with the court on May 20. Judge Cristol is expected to make his decision at a June 29 court hearing in Miami.
If the sale is approved as expected, Pan Am will emerge from bankruptcy as a new airline with a proud heritage. It commands a name that is recognized throughout South America and the Caribbean, along the route of The China Clipper between San Francisco and Manila, and across Europe. While Pan Am will emerge as a significantly different airline than the Pan Am of yesteryear, it will emerge with a sound financial base, a good name on which to build and a team of employees committed to translating the safety-driven success of Guilford to the airline industry.