Latest news with #PanAmericanWorldAirways
Condé Nast Traveler
23-07-2025
- Business
- Condé Nast Traveler
On Pan Am's Private Jet Journeys, Nostalgia Goes for $60,000 a Pop
Pan Am is back—but not in the same way you may remember it. A new private jet travel experience is retracing the iconic routes of Pan Am, once the largest and most famous airline in the United States. Operated on board a chartered Boeing 757 complete with the famous Pan Am livery, the brand has been brought back to life by Beyond Capricorn and Bartelings, two companies that specialize in bespoke luxury tours, with an official license from Pan American World Airways. The inaugural trip took off this June, following Pan Am's original transatlantic circle route to Europe. This route was originally flown by the famous Pan Am Clippers, long-range flying boats used in the 1920s and 1930s. At the time, an airline ticket would cost between $200 and $400 one way, depending on the destination (equivalent to between $4,000 and $8,000 today). While Pan Am is associated with the golden age of commercial air travel, its latest act as 'Pan Am Journeys by Private Air' offers an even more exclusive product. The 757 aircraft named Yankee Clipper II features 50 fully-flat business class seats, each with a $60,000 price tag. That price includes a scenic 12-night tour from New York-JFK with stops in Bermuda, Lisbon, Marseille, London, and Shannon in Ireland, where travelers stayed in luxury hotels like St. Regis in New York, the Four Seasons Hotel Ritz in Lisbon, The Savoy in London, and Adare Manor in Ireland.
USA Today
09-07-2025
- Business
- USA Today
Massive 36,000-acre Adirondacks estate sold for $125M. Is a golf resort in the works?
A 36,600-acre Adirondack property will be sold to a Texas-based luxury developer for a reported $125 million in one of the largest private land sales in New York state history. Whitney Park, home to 17-bedroom great camp Deerlands, is considered a crown jewel of the Adirondack Park. The estate includes dozens of lakes and ponds, more than 100 miles of shoreline, and spans over 57 square miles. It is home to a diverse range of wildlife and carries deep historical and environmental significance. The buyer, Todd Interests, is known for upscale real estate projects. CEO Shawn Todd has said he plans to develop only a small percentage of the property, about 1,000 to 1,500 acres, with the rest preserved. He has floated ideas including a luxury resort, golf course, fine dining, lodging, a ski hill and guided recreation, though no formal development plans have been filed with the Adirondack Park Agency, which oversees land use in the region. The deal also includes the Cady Hill estate in Saratoga Springs, with Todd Interests potentially adding a restaurant and deluxe lodging. The sale ends more than a century of Whitney family ownership, a lineage that stretches from the Vanderbilt and Whitney dynasties to Marylou Whitney, the philanthropist, horse racing owner, and social icon known as the 'Queen of Saratoga.' She was regarded as one of the last great Gilded Age socialites. Her first husband, Frank Hosford, was an heir to the John Deere fortune. Her second husband, Cornelius Vanderbilt Whitney, helped found Pan American World Airways and came from a family whose wealth spanned oil, railroads, and tobacco. Before her death at age 93 in 2019, Marylou Whitney was the largest private landowner in New York state. Her third husband, John Hendrickson, inherited the property and strongly opposed selling it to New York, citing frustrations with how the Department of Environmental Conservation had managed previous Whitney lands. Hendrickson, chairman of the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame, died in August 2024 at age 59. In November 2024, eight environmental organizations urged Gov. Kathy Hochul to pursue a conservation easement or partial acquisition to protect the land's ecological value. The estate links wildlife corridors, supports rare species, and contains some of the most pristine lakeshore in the park. No conservation easement was finalized before the sale, though state officials have expressed interest in negotiating one with the new owner. According to Hendrickson's estate, all net proceeds from the sale will go to the town of Long Lake in Hamilton County, which has a population of 791 and an annual budget of about $5 million. Developer's history of large-scale property acquisitions Todd Interests often acquires historically significant or high-profile properties and transforms them into luxury destinations. Its projects tend to blend high-end amenities with conservation or preservation themes, such as:
Yahoo
09-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Luxury developer buys famed 36,000-acre Adirondacks estate for $125M
A 36,600-acre Adirondack property will be sold to a Texas-based luxury developer for a reported $125 million in one of the largest private land sales in New York state history. Whitney Park, home to 17-bedroom great camp Deerlands, is considered a crown jewel of the Adirondack Park. The estate includes dozens of lakes and ponds, more than 100 miles of shoreline, and spans over 57 square miles. It is home to a diverse range of wildlife and carries deep historical and environmental significance. The buyer, Todd Interests, is known for upscale real estate projects. CEO Shawn Todd has said he plans to develop only a small percentage of the property, about 1,000 to 1,500 acres, with the rest preserved. He has floated ideas including a luxury resort, golf course, fine dining, lodging, a ski hill and guided recreation, though no formal development plans have been filed with the Adirondack Park Agency, which oversees land use in the region. The deal also includes the Cady Hill estate in Saratoga Springs, with Todd Interests potentially adding a restaurant and deluxe lodging. The sale ends more than a century of Whitney family ownership, a lineage that stretches from the Vanderbilt and Whitney dynasties to Marylou Whitney, the philanthropist, horse racing owner, and social icon known as the 'Queen of Saratoga.' She was regarded as one of the last great Gilded Age socialites. Her first husband, Frank Hosford, was an heir to the John Deere fortune. Her second husband, Cornelius Vanderbilt Whitney, helped found Pan American World Airways and came from a family whose wealth spanned oil, railroads, and tobacco. Before her death at age 93 in 2019, Marylou Whitney was the largest private landowner in New York state. Her third husband, John Hendrickson, inherited the property and strongly opposed selling it to New York, citing frustrations with how the Department of Environmental Conservation had managed previous Whitney lands. Hendrickson, chairman of the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame, died in August 2024 at age 59. In November 2024, eight environmental organizations urged Gov. Kathy Hochul to pursue a conservation easement or partial acquisition to protect the land's ecological value. The estate links wildlife corridors, supports rare species, and contains some of the most pristine lakeshore in the park. No conservation easement was finalized before the sale, though state officials have expressed interest in negotiating one with the new owner. According to Hendrickson's estate, all net proceeds from the sale will go to the town of Long Lake in Hamilton County, which has a population of 791 and an annual budget of about $5 million. Todd Interests often acquires historically significant or high-profile properties and transforms them into luxury destinations. Its projects tend to blend high-end amenities with conservation or preservation themes, such as: The National, Dallas: Redevelopment of the former First National Bank Tower into a mix of high-end residences, a luxury hotel, restaurants, and office space. East Quarter, Dallas: A mixed-use historic district blending tech firms, restaurants, and creative office space. Freestone Club, Fairfield, Texas: A lake and golf resort community surrounding one of the largest privately owned lakes in the United States, marketed as a secluded retreat. This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Whitney estate in Adirondacks sold for $125M to Texas developer
Daily Mail
27-06-2025
- Daily Mail
Beloved major airline is finally flying again - but it will cost you £45,000 for a seat
This week, for the first time in 34 years, a Pan Am aircraft touched down in the UK - its tail adorned with the airline's instantly recognisable 'blue globe' logo, glistening in the Stansted sunshine. The Boeing 757, with only business-class seats, had crossed the Atlantic carrying more than just passengers – it brought with it a wave of jet-set nostalgia. Pan Am – officially Pan American World Airways – was once the epitome of glamour in the skies. Founded in 1927, it revolutionised international air travel and came to symbolise American sophistication and ambition. With white-gloved service, lobster dinners, onboard lounges and elegant cabin crew in crisp blue uniforms, flying Pan Am wasn't just about getting from A to B, it was an experience. The airline was a status symbol for celebrities, diplomats, and the global elite. It pioneered long-haul international travel, operated the first regular transatlantic and transpacific services, and introduced the world to the Boeing 747. At its peak, Pan Am flew to more than 80 countries and became the very image of the Golden Age of aviation. The sight of stylish flight attendants strolling arm-in-arm with dashing pilots caused a stir in terminals around the world. But by 1991, Pan Am had collapsed – undone by financial troubles, deregulation and the Lockerbie bombing in 1988. Now, Pan Am is back – at least in spirit. American tour operator Criterion Travel, in partnership with private jet specialist Bartelings, has launched a 12-day ultra-luxury itinerary for the super-rich, reviving the Pan Am name for an immersive nostalgia trip like no other. The 'Tracing the Transatlantic' journey follows the early routes of the original Pan Am flying boats, from New York to Bermuda, Lisbon, Marseille, London, and Foynes in Ireland – each stop a luxurious tribute to a bygone era. Guests – just 35 of them – travel aboard a plush 757 named Yankee Clipper II, a nod to one of Pan Am's most famous flying boats. On board, vintage boarding music from the 1970's plays, cabin crew don original uniforms (complete with pillbox hats), there's an open bar and the service is straight out of the airline's glory days. Even the menus tip their hat to the past: caviar was served between Bermuda and Lisbon – though sadly, the famous chateaubriand carved at your seat is no longer an option (carving knives no longer welcome on aircraft). In Foynes, passengers get to visit the Flying Boat Museum, home to the world's only B-314 flying boat replica – once a mainstay of Pan Am's 1940s fleet. At other stops, talks have been given by past crew members reliving their younger days in the sky. Flight attendant Anna Maria Aevarsdottir, who normally flies for Icelandair, joined the project for the chance to step back in time. 'When we put on the uniform in the morning, we feel like we're part of something much bigger,' she said. 'The Pan Am women were icons of their time, very elegant, capable and adventurous. We feel really proud to be carrying on their legacy across the Atlantic.' She and her colleagues prepared by watching Pan Am documentaries, listening to aviation podcasts, and even binge-watching the Pan Am TV drama starring Margot Robbie. Among the passengers were three former Pan Am flight attendants – one even brought her original uniform and wore it to dinner. Two other travellers, sisters, were retracing their own family history: their father began his Pan Am flying career on the flying boats and retired piloting the 747. Texas couple Phil and his wife Quito Bailey are seasoned travellers but have relished this unusual odyssey. 'The most magnificent experience we've ever had travelling,' said Phil. 'We are running out of adjectives to describe it.' While not all aboard had a personal connection to the airline, Craig Carter, CEO of the revived Pan American World Airlines brand and host of the journey, summed it up: 'If they weren't Pan Am fans when they boarded, they're Pan Am true blue now.' The fare for the nostalgic all-inclusive trip? A sky-high $60,000 (£43,500) per passenger. And that's just the beginning. A 21-day Transpacific journey is planned for later this year, priced at an eye-watering $95,000 (£75,000), with a round-the-world tour coming in 2027 to mark Pan Am's 100th anniversary. For those not quite ready to splurge on that kind of airfare, more accessible tributes to the airline's legacy are in the works. A new Pan Am-themed hotel is set to open in California next year. The Pan Am Experience is an immersive dining event in LA where you can enjoy Pan Am service without leaving the ground, and talks are underway about future commercial flights. The iconic 'blue globe' is back in action – reviving the memory of when flying truly was half the fun.
Vancouver Sun
24-06-2025
- Business
- Vancouver Sun
Pan Am nostalgia takes flight under new ownership
A small gaggle of former Pan American World Airways flight attendants stood by a window in Terminal 7 at John F. Kennedy International Airport, craning their necks and holding up phones. There were a few audible gasps and a soft cry of 'Oh gosh, there it is' as the plane came into view. Several of the women teared up as the jet finally slid past the window, its fin bearing the unmistakable cobalt-blue meatball of the Pan Am logo. The former flight attendants — and several dozen fellow passengers — were at JFK to board the plane, a chartered Boeing 757 that's being billed as a 'Pan Am journey by private air.' Over 12 days the plane will travel from New York to Bermuda and then on to Lisbon, Marseille, London, and Shannon, Ireland, before returning to New York City. The plane itself, which has capacity for 50 passengers, features fully reclinable lie-back seats, personal devices from which to stream entertainment options, as well as an open bar and chef-prepared meals served by attendants dressed in full Pan Am regalia. The trip cost US$59,950 per person for double occupancy, $5,600 more for single occupancy. Plan your next getaway with Travel Time, featuring travel deals, destinations and gear. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of Travel Time will soon be in your inbox. Please try again Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. The flight to Bermuda isn't quite the first to wear the iconic Pan Am badge since the pioneering airline folded in 1991; a previous owner dabbled in launching a few routes in 2006. But it's the maiden voyage under Pan Am's new owners: Chief Executive Officer Craig Carter, who's led luxury travel-planning companies, and four other investors with backgrounds in hospitality and event marketing. They bought the Pan American World Airways trademark last year with the intention of reviving one of the most storied brands in airline history. What Carter and his fellow investors had purchased in February 2024 was essentially a licensing operation. There are Pan Am watches by Breitling and Timex; you can buy branded T-shirts and sweatshirts; and the name had been on a gin and vodka distillery, among other things. Most of those efforts are very much ongoing, but almost immediately the new ownership began planning a high-end luxury tour. 'We knew this would be a good way to get a plane back in the air,' Carter says. 'That was one of our main objectives.' The trip itself was put together by Bartelings, a company that specializes in tours by private aircraft, and Criterion Travel, a tour operator that plans high-end trips for alumni organizations, museums and similar groups. Its six stops were part of Pan Am's first two trans-Atlantic routes, which the airline began flying commercially in 1939. The group is set to stay at hotels including the Fairmont Hamilton Princess & Beach Club in Bermuda, the Four Seasons in Lisbon and the Savoy Hotel in London. The last stop, in Shannon, is built around a visit to the Foynes Flying Boat & Maritime Museum, which features a full-size replica of a Boeing 314 'flying boat,' the famous Pan Am Yankee Clipper. The tour does its level best to evoke the 'golden age' of air travel. Flight attendants, borrowed from Icelandair (hiring and training crews for the tour isn't yet in the cards) wore replica Pan Am uniforms, complete with hats and white gloves. When the small crew stopped to pose for pictures with pilots in dapper uniforms outside the terminal, they drew a crowd almost immediately. Their neat updos and spiffy uniforms have the instant effect of conjuring up a time when travel was exciting, a bit glamorous, full of possibility. Flyers might feel as though they're on a movie set. Around the elegant group, travelers in sweatpants, plastic slip-on sandals and scruffy ponytails shuffled toward the security line. The customized 757 holds about 30 spacious rows of first-class seats. The aisle is wide, but sadly there's no seatside chateaubriand service — a hallmark of first-class Pan Am travel, when flight attendants would famously carve meat on the spot. Plenty of champagne, however, will be on offer. None of the legs of this trip will be longer than seven hours, but should a passenger want to fall asleep, they could completely recline their seat. (The restroom is, well, just an airplane restroom with elevated finishes. For now it's more than enough. Carter says they had no trouble filling the plane for this trip. A significant portion of the guests who bought tickets have a connection to Pan Am that goes back decades; several were flight attendants or the children of pilots. Debbi Fuller of Langdon, New Hampshire, was a flight attendant from 1980 to 1989. She'd shown her husband the brochure for the trip last winter, laughing at the five-figure price tag. He surprised her by telling her to book it, she says: 'He said, 'I'm 83. I can't take it with me. I know how much Pan Am meant to you. And I lost that much in the stock market last week anyway.'' Fuller's husband stayed home ('his travelling days are over'), but she's used to solo trips, and her excitement at this one was obvious. She'd brought her uniform with her (it needed only a few minor adjustments to fit) and planned to wear it in Bermuda. The Pan Am alumni network is a remarkably active one. A foundation raises money to support a museum, which along with a podcast and YouTube channel is a repository for stories and memorabilia chronicling the airline's history, from its first flight (a mail boat from Key West to Havana in 1927) to becoming a juggernaut that dominated air travel, pioneering routes from the US to places all over the world. Despite not having worked together for at least 30 years, many crew members maintain close ties, says Wendy Knecht, a former flight attendant who was invited to join the first leg of the trip as part of her work with the Pan Am Museum Foundation. 'Of all the jobs I've ever had, we feel like we're family.' (Even today, Knecht says, she frequently channels her Pan Am identity: 'If I have people over for dinner, I just pretend I'm doing the first-class galley. We used to throw parties there every day.') But Carter, Pan Am's new CEO, is betting there's an appetite for Pan Am nostalgia that goes well beyond the ranks of former crew members. And there's evidence not too far away from where the plane started this new journey: The TWA Hotel, in the Eero Saarinen-designed former terminal at JFK, is a jet-age time warp with restaurants, a shop and a rooftop bar and swimming pool. Across Europe and Asia, ultraluxe train trips, which hearken back to an even earlier age of high-style travel, are selling out with price tags in the tens of thousands of dollars for a few days aboard. Pan Am has also joined the ranks of a select few travel operators, including the Four Seasons and Abercrombie & Kent, which are betting that luxury jet travel is appealing to a demographic that will pay as much as $198,000 to fly with just a few dozen fellow travellers to a series of destinations where bespoke itineraries have been planned to the last detail. Another Pan Am private jet journey is already in the works. Next April passengers will be able to trace the trans-Pacific route on a 21-day trip that stops in Tokyo; Siem Reap, Cambodia; Singapore; Darwin and Sydney, Australia; Auckland; and Nadi, Fiji. That one will cost $94,495 per person for double occupancy, $9,500 more for a single. But if that price tag is out of reach, Carter and his partners don't plan to leave you out in the cold. A Pan Am hotel is planned for a shopping centre near Los Angeles, and soon you'll be able to book an evening on the city's relaunched Pan Am Experience , which Carter calls 'dinner theatre' aboard a grounded airplane where the theme is 1970s Pan Am glamour. If all you want is one of the famous tote bags, Carter says that unfortunately those won't be for sale to the general public. If you find yourself in South Korea, however, there are still 14 stores there that sell nothing but Pan Am merchandise. The true dream for Pan Am is to be an airline again, Carter says. It's begun the costly and painstaking process of figuring out how to relaunch — and finance — regularly scheduled service. And while it's early days, the company has already secured a call sign from the Federal Aviation Administration: Clipper.
