Author Description

Pan American World Airways could be considered a corporate Cinderella--a rags-to-riches-and-back-again phenomenon. From its founding in 1927 and its relatively obscure inauguration as a mail carrier on a 90-mile mail run from Florida's Key West to Cuba, Pan Am's route system grew to span the globe. The company that would eventually become famous for its blue-and-white-world logo grew into a conglomerate of hotels, airlines, business jets, real estate, a helicopter service, and even a guided missiles range division. But financial problems plagued Pan Am in its last two decades, and in 1991, Pan American World Airways ceased flying after 64 years of service. <br>The story of Pan Am is as much the story of president Juan T. Trippe as it is an account of airplanes, pilots, flight attendants, and <br>glamorous destinations. As the company moved throughout the world building airfields from jungles, crossing oceans, and forcing <br>the development of new airplanes, it was Trippe's airline and his vision. A global pioneer, Pan Am was the first airline to use radio <br>communications, to employ cabin attendants and serve meals aloft, and to complete an around-the-world flight. The company's <br>achievements were legendary, but its failures, tragedies, and disasters were also part of a complex corporate life.