It’s amazing how a country’s identity can be so closely
tied to a business. Such was the case with PanAm. Founded in
1927, the airline was a part of American culture for the
better part of the 20th century. It led the industry in
international flights and luxury travel. It was also the
first airline to make widespread use of jumbo jets, and the
first to use an air staff of stewardesses as a PR focal
point. Little girls grew up wanting to be PanAm
stewardesses, and boys grew up wanting to pilot one of the
fleet. Heck, the Beatles arrived on one. Unfortunately, as
an American icon, PanAm was also a target for terrorism. A
few horrific incidents, coupled with the increased global
competition that came with deregulation, caused the
airline—and its accompanying era—to collapse in 1991.