Pan Am Experience

The Pan Am Experience

Sam Chui·March 1, 2020

What was flying a Pan Am B747 in the 1970s like?

Pan American World Airways — or Pan Am — was once the biggest international airline in the world. It is remembered as a symbol of luxury and of how air travel used to be. Pan Am filed for bankruptcy and ultimately folded in 1991.

Fortunately in Los Angeles, you can re-live the magic of flying on-board a luxurious Pan Am B747 at The Pan Am Experience.

The Pan Am Experience includes a five or six course meal, drinks and a fashion show. There's even a check-in process with tickets and boarding passes. Flight attendants dressed in retro uniforms will happily pose for photos with passengers. You can even get dressed up as a Captain like I did!

All passengers are invited for a cocktail in the lounge before boarding the Pan Am B747.

a group of chairs in a room — Pan Am Experience Check-in

a reception desk with red and white text

a woman standing in front of a blue wall

a hand holding a ticket — Boarding pass is also based on 1970s original Pan Am design, using sticker as seat assignment

a group of men in uniform — With the owners of Pan Am Experience; Anthony Toth (left) and Talaat Captan (right)

a man in uniform holding a paper with a camera

The co-owner Anthony Toth gave me a quick tour of the plane, which is a complete replica of the Pan Am B747-200. There are a total of 56 seats, with 18 First Class seats in the 747 plane nose followed by 24 Clipper Class seats in the section behind the nose.

a plane with red and blue seats — Pan Am Experience First Class

The bulkhead and covers of the seats are replicated to the exact decor of Pam Am in the 1970s.

an airplane with red and blue seats — Pan Am Experience First Class Section

a plane with blue seats and tables — Pan Am Experience Clipper Class

Perhaps the most exclusive section is the upper deck lounge, with space for just 14 passengers to enjoy.

a plane with a table and chairs — Upper deck lounge

a group of people in a plane — Upper deck lounge

inside an airplane with a staircase — Pan Am Experience Upper Deck

Once boarded, retro dressed Pan Am stewardesses offered cocktails, prop (fake) cigarettes and magazines.

a man smoking a cigarette and a woman sitting on an airplane

Waiters dressed in white suites to offer replica menus, based on what Pan Am served on long haul flights back in 1970. Catering was replicated from Maxim's de Paris.

They served classic dishes, such as caviar and chateaubriand, exactly what Pan Am served in the 70s. The menu, seat cover, fine bone china and glassware served was all original Pan Am items; from the collection of owner Anthony Toth. Starter was a prawn cocktail.

a woman serving food to a man sitting in a plane

Meanwhile on the upper deck, premium passengers were treated to caviar and chilled vodka.

two women standing in an airplane — Pan Am Experience - caviar service

a group of people in an airplane — Pan Am Experience - caviar service

Between the starter and main course, there were fashion shows with flight attendants dressed in all the Pan Am uniforms over the years.

two women in blue uniforms in an airplane

The next was the main course, classic French Chateaubriand served directly in front of each passenger to their liking. There was also an alternative Chicken or pasta (vegetarian) dish.

two women in blue uniforms standing in an airplane — Pan Am Experience - classic French Chateaubriand served directly in front of each passenger

a woman in an airplane wearing an apron and holding a knife and a plate of meat

After the main course, it was time for another international airline fashion show. No less than 17 different airline uniforms were shown, including some of the current ones such as Emirates and Singapore Airlines.

two women in matching outfits standing in a plane

After the show there were duty free sales available (Pan Am retro memorabilia) followed by fruit, cheese and a dessert cart.

Whether you're a flying enthusiast or just want to try something different. the Pam Am Experience was great retro fun and never a dull moment. I invite you to sit back, relax and enjoy the full video.