Exhibits

Passengers, mail, or cargo, safe air travel to destinations across the globe was now a reality. In need of a larger aircraft to aid in pioneering routes to Latin America and the Pacific, on July 21, 1936, Pan American signed a contract with Boeing for a new aircraft that would soon augment the airline’s trans-Pacific Martin M-130, known as the Boeing 314.

An Era Featuring, The Boeing 314: Bridging The Ocean.

With a range of 4,200 nautical miles, the Boeing 314 was the quintessential “flying boat,” which ushered in an era of luxurious travel across the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. Its transoceanic capabilities earned the 314 the nickname “Clipper,” after the mid-19th-century multi-mast sailing ships. Learn More by Purchasing Tickets Now!

From San Francisco to Hawaii, and New York to London and Paris, the romance of overseas luxury air travel resonated across the world. Having been serviced between San Francisco, and Honolulu, Hawaii in 1949, the Stratocruiser was the first Boeing commercial transport model built since the Stratoliner. This aircraft had set a new standard for air travel with its luxurious designs and services offered to its passengers.

An Era Featuring, The Boeing 377: Unsurpassed Luxury in the Sky.

The double-decker Boeing 377 Stratocruiser could fit up to 100 passengers in tasteful luxury. A circular staircase connected the extra-wide main cabin to a lower-deck beverage lounge. As the innovative aircraft carried passengers across the ocean in pressurized comfort, the cabin crew prepared hot meals for 50 to 100 diners in a state-of-the-art galley. Learn More by Purchasing Tickets Now!

Twice as large, twice as fast, and many more times efficient, Pan Am’s new passenger jets made air travel obtainable to nearly everyone. Pan Am was the first airline to operate the Boeing 707 and christened Jet Clipper America at National Airport on October 16, 1958. The 707 quickly became the most popular jetliner of its time as it was used in widespread international, transatlantic, and transcontinental routes while it was in service.

An Era Featuring, The Boeing 707: A Catalyst for Growth.

The world got a little smaller on October 26, 1958, when Pan Am flew the newly introduced Boeing 707 on its first commercial flight from New York’s Idlewild Airport to Le Bourget in Paris on October 26, 1958. Revolutionizing air travel and kicking the jet age into high gear, the 707’s popularity led to rapid developments in airport terminals, runways, airline catering, baggage handling, reservations systems, and other infrastructure. Learn More by Purchasing Tickets Now!

Transforming commercial passenger aviation with ‘The Queen of the Sky.’ Pan Am’s debut of the Boeing 747 had made air travel more affordable for the general public than ever, as allowed for Pan Am to fly 11 million passengers to 86 different countries.

An Era Featuring, The Boeing 747: International Travel for the Masses.

The combination of reduced airfares, a surge in passenger traffic, and increasingly crowded skies led Boeing to develop the 747 as the 1960s came to a close. Pan Am continued its pioneering tradition by kickstarting the development with an order for 25 planes in April of 1966. Pan Am flew the first commercial flight of a 747 on January 22, 1970, when it carried 335 passengers and 20 crew members from New York’s JFK Airport to London Heathrow. Learn More by Purchasing Tickets Now!