Episode image for Airline: The Story of Pan Am

Duration: 1 hour

Documentary telling the story of how Pan American World Airways kickstarted the jet-age and shrank the globe. Real-life 'Pan Am girls' recall a high-life of luxury and glamour; rubbing shoulders with celebrity passengers, international romances and having to wear the now infamous girdle. Stars of the jet-age such as Robert Vaughn and Mary Quant remember the food, fashion and girls that made them regular Pan Am passengers.

Pan Am's success was largely due to its visionary founder Juan Trippe, who transformed a small mail carrier in to a global airline, pioneered flights for the masses and helped create the Boeing 747 jumbo jet.

Honor Blackman narrates the story of how Pan Am conquered the skies and left a legacy of affordable travel and a much smaller world.

Last on

Sat 28 Jan 2012 23:35 BBC Four

Credits

Narrator
Honor Blackman
Director
Stephen Lennhoff
Executive Producer
Gilly Hall
Executive Producer
Peter Hoare

Broadcasts

  • BBC TwoSat 12 Nov 2011 20:00 BBC Two except Northern Ireland (Analogue), Wales (Analogue)

  • BBC TwoWed 16 Nov 2011 23:20 BBC Two only on England, Scotland, Wales

  • BBC TwoWed 16 Nov 2011 23:50 BBC Two only on Northern Ireland

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