Dating from 1972 when the airline was at the top of its market share, this Pan Am travelogue “Pan Am’s World” begins with a flight from New York Kennedy Airport’s Worldport to the Caribbean aboard a 747 jumbo jet. At this time the airline flew to Antigua, Jamaica, Martinique, Guadeloupe, Haiti, St. Thomas, Trinidad, the Dominican Republic, St. Croix, Barbados, and Puerto Rico. Scenes from many different nations are seen throughout the film, which also includes a driving soundtrack populated with steel drums and reggae.
Pan American World Airways, known from its founding until 1950 as Pan American Airways and commonly known as Pan Am, was the principal and largest international air carrier in the United States from 1927 until its collapse on December 4, 1991. Founded in 1927 as a scheduled air mail and passenger service operating between Key West, Florida, and Havana, Cuba, the airline became a major company credited with many innovations that shaped the international airline industry, including the widespread use of jet aircraft, jumbo jets, and computerized reservation systems. It was also a founding member of the International Air Transport Association (IATA), the global airline industry association. Identified by its blue globe logo, the use of the word “Clipper” in aircraft names and call signs, and the white pilot uniform caps, the airline was a cultural icon of the 20th century. In an era dominated by flag carriers that were wholly or majority government-owned, it was also the unofficial flag carrier of the United States. During most of the jet era, Pan Am’s flagship terminal was the Worldport located at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City.
The film was directed by Geoffrey Reeve and produced by Film Services Limited of London. Geoffrey Reeve (1932–2010) was a well loved and successful British film director and producer. After graduating at Oxford with a degree in Law, he left for Canada and a job with ICI, making promotional films for the company. He was known for his creative flair and brought the Hollywood ‘motion picture’ to British shores
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This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available for licensing in 24p HD and 2k. For more information visit http://www.PeriscopeFilm.com
