Existing comment:
Pan American Airways
Led by Juan T. Trippe, Pan American became the dominant U.S. international airline. Its famous "Clippers" flew to Latin America and crossed the Atlantic and Pacific.
Founded in 1927, Pan American opened regular commercial service throughout Latin America using both flying boats and landplanes. In 1935, Juan T. Trippe introduced the first regularly scheduled transpacific service with the famous Martin M-130 China Clipper. He opened regular transatlantic service in 1939 with the Boeing 314 flying boat.
Pan American was barred from domestic routes in return for exclusive rights to international routes. Its overseas monopoly lasted until World War II, and its domestic restriction until 1978.
Pan Am Sikorsky S-40 with passengers boarding
National Air and Space Museum Archives
With 38 seats and a crew of six, the Sikorsky S-40 flying boat was the largest U.S. airliner of its time. Only three were built, but they left a lasting mark as the first "Clippers," a name affixed to all subsequent Pan American aircraft.
Ships of the Air:
Pan Am's "Clippers" were named in tribute to the clipper ships of the China tea trade in the 1850s, the fastest sailing ships of their day. |