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Atlantic
17 hours ago
- Politics
- Atlantic
Trump Knows Iran Has Wanted Him Dead
Hours before launching B-2 bombers at Iran, President Donald Trump stood on a secured airport tarmac 40 miles west of Manhattan, under the watchful guard of the U.S. Secret Service and a militarized counterassault team. When a reporter asked about the risk of terror attacks on U.S. targets overseas by Iranian proxies, the world's most protected man instead spoke of his own risk of assassination. 'You are even in danger talking to me right now. You know that?' he said. 'So I should probably get out of here. But you guys are actually in danger. Can you believe it?' Before walking away, he looked a reporter in the eye. 'Be careful,' he said. The threats against the president do not rank among the stated reasons for Trump's decision to target nuclear sites in Iran, and White House officials and other outside advisers told us they have not come up in meaningful Situation Room discussions. 'The president makes decisions on Iran based on what's in the best interest of the country and the world, not himself,' White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told us. But the fear of being killed at the behest of a foreign government has hung over the president and his senior team for months, an anxiety-producing din that has limited their daily routine, especially after two failed assassination attempts by alleged homegrown assailants. Now some Trump allies are privately wondering how much the ever-present risk is shaping the president's thinking about the current conflict. At least twice in 2024, federal authorities gave private briefings to campaign leaders on the evolving Iranian threat and adjusted Trump's protection. The Justice Department revealed two indictments last year alone that described disrupted Iranian plots against U.S. officials. Top aides worried that Trump's Boeing 757 campaign plane, emblazoned with his name, would be shot out of the sky, and at one point they used a decoy plane—sending alarmed (and presumably more expendable) staff off on 'Trump Force One' while Trump himself flew separately on a friend's private plane, according to a Trump-campaign book by the Axios reporter Alex Isenstadt. 'Big threats on my life by Iran,' Trump posted on social media last September. 'The entire U.S. Military is watching and waiting. Moves were already made by Iran that didn't work out, but they will try again.' Since this week's air strikes on three Iranian nuclear sites, military and security analysts have been on guard for asymmetric responses, such as terrorist attacks and assassinations. The Department of Homeland Security warned of a 'heightened threat environment' in a Sunday bulletin and noted Iran's 'long-standing commitment to target US Government officials.' FBI agents who had been reassigned to focus on immigration were told over the weekend to focus back on counterterrorism, counterintelligence, and cyberissues, NBC News reported Tuesday. Trump's two-week window for diplomacy was a smoke screen Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has denied his government's involvement in any assassination plots. But he and other Iranian leaders have done little to ease concerns. 'Iran reserves all options,' Abbas Araghchi, Iran's foreign minister, posted on X after the attack, before the country launched a missile barrage at a U.S. military base in Qatar that did little damage. 'Threat equals intent plus capability,' Matthew Levitt, an expert on Iranian operations at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, told us. 'We are very clear on their intent. We are less clear going forward on their capabilities.' Trump has publicly indicated that the focus of U.S. military action against Iran is narrowly tailored to its nuclear program. 'We want no nuclear. But we destroyed the nuclear,' he said in the Netherlands on Wednesday. The question of Iran's assassination posture remains a sensitive one inside Trump's circle—'very top of mind,' one person, who requested anonymity to speak frankly, told us. And close allies assume it must also be for the president. 'It'd probably be in the back of my mind if I were him,' an outside White House adviser told us. During the run-up to the U.S. bombing of Iran, Tucker Carlson suggested in a debate with Texas Senator Ted Cruz that there needed to be an immediate attack on Iran if there was evidence of an assassination threat against Trump, even as he doubted the legitimacy of such reports. 'We should have a nationwide dragnet on this, and we should attack Iran immediately if that's true,' Carlson said. Last year, then-President Joe Biden sent word to the Iranian regime that any assassination attempt against former U.S. officials would be considered an 'act of war,' according to people briefed on the plans, who were not authorized to speak publicly. Pezeshkian told NBC News in January 2025 that 'Iran has never attempted to, nor does it plan to, assassinate anyone.' 'At least as far as I know,' he continued, not entirely engendering confidence in the assessment. Trump, in his less diplomatic style, has repeated Biden's warning, albeit in much more colorful language. He told reporters in the Oval Office in February that he had 'left instructions' for what should happen if he is murdered by Iran. 'If they do it, they get obliterated,' the president said. 'There will be nothing left.' Such U.S. retaliation has a historical basis. When former President George H. W. Bush, his wife, and two sons survived an alleged car-bomb assassination attempt during a visit to Kuwait in 1993, U.S. investigators tied the plot—involving a Toyota Land Cruiser packed with plastic explosives—to Iraqi Intelligence Services. Months later, then-President Bill Clinton ordered retaliatory cruise-missile attacks on the intelligence headquarters in Baghdad. Nearly a decade later, President George W. Bush cited the foiled attack as part of his case for the U.S. military invasion of Iraq that toppled its president, Saddam Hussein. 'There is no doubt he can't stand us,' the younger Bush said of Hussein in 2002. 'After all, this is the guy who tried to kill my dad at one time.' The Biden administration disclosed the latest specific allegations of a plot to kill Trump three days after last year's presidential election. In charging documents filed in federal court, the FBI described a phone interview it conducted during the heat of the campaign with Farhad Shakeri, an Afghan national residing in Tehran, who had been deported from the U.S. in 2008 following a 14-year prison stay in New York for robbery. Prosecutors have charged Shakeri with attempting to hire hit men to kill an Iranian American journalist living in New York. But Shakeri claimed in his conversations with the FBI, according to the criminal complaint, to have received new orders in September from an official of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps: kill Trump. Shakeri told the FBI that he warned his contact that such an effort would cost a 'huge' amount of money, according to charging documents. In response, the Iranian official said, 'we have already spent a lot of money . . . [s]o money's not an issue,' Shakeri told the FBI. Shakeri further explained that he believed the official was referring to money already spent to try to assassinate Trump. Shakeri said his military contact asked on October 7 for an assasination plan to be delivered within seven days. If Shakeri failed to do so, he said the contact told him they would try again after the election, which the Iranians expected Trump to lose. (Such an assessment was also likely upsetting to Trump.) Around the same time that Shakeri was charged, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence announced in an unclassified November 2024 report that 'Iranian officials continue to publicly reiterate their vows to conduct lethal operations in the United States.' The 'priority targets' listed in the report included Trump, former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, and former Commander of U.S. Central Command Kenneth McKenzie, who were all directly involved in the 2020 assassination of Qassem Soleimani, the former head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. 'I'll be taking precautions the rest of my life,' McKenzie told the United States Naval Institute and Coast Guard Academy last year. Kenneth F. McKenzie Jr.: Inside the decision to assassinate Iran's ruthless general Soleimani was killed by a drone strike in Iraq, where U.S. officials said he was directing attacks against American forces. His death sparked calls for revenge against U.S. officials. In 2022, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei featured an animated video on his website that depicts a targeted assassination of Trump by Iranian drones as he golfs near his Mar-a-Lago estate. In the video, Trump receives a text message before he is killed that reads, 'Soleimani's murderer and the one who gave the order will pay the price.' Such public calls could inspire a lone-wolf attacker. 'Part of the problem is it's not just hit men or just officials of the government that may be doing this,' Trump's former national security adviser John Bolton told us. 'The threat can come from a variety of different places. It's not just those expressly organized by the government in Tehran.' Bolton has also been targeted for assassination by Iran for his role in the Soleimani strike, according to the Justice Department. The FBI is still offering a $20 million reward for any information that leads to the arrest of Shahram Poursafi, a uniformed member of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, for a 2022 plot to kill Bolton. Poursafi attempted to pay individuals as much as $300,000 to 'eliminate' Bolton in Washington or Maryland, including at one point providing an individual with specific details of Bolton's schedule that did not seem to be publicly available, according to court documents. (If Bolton was successfully dispatched with, Poursafi added at one point, he had a second 'job,' this one worth $1 million.) The unclassified November 2024 report pointed to another alleged Iranian assassination plot that members of the government have separately said they believe included Trump. On August 6, U.S. prosecutors unsealed a criminal complaint against Asif Merchant, a Pakistani national who had recently traveled to Iran. They alleged that he'd flown to Texas four months earlier to recruit others, including a confidential informant for the FBI, to assassinate 'U.S. officials,' according to a complaint filed in federal court. 'Specifically, Merchant requested men who could do the killing, approximately twenty-five people who could perform a protest as a distraction after the murder occurred, and a woman to do 'reconnaissance,'' the complaint stated. The target of his assassination plot, he later told undercover law-enforcement officers posing as hit men, was a 'political person,' and the protests would take place at political rallies, according to the complaint. Merchant described himself as a 'representative,' a word the officers interpreted to mean he was working for other people outside the U.S. He was arrested after making plans to leave the country again. Kori Schake, the director of foreign and defense policy at the American Enterprise Institute and a contributing writer at The Atlantic, told us the threats from Iran 'should be taken incredibly seriously.' But she also pointed out that, almost immediately upon returning to office, Trump withdrew the security protections for some of his former officials facing similar danger, including Bolton and retired U.S. Army General Mark Milley, the former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. 'So either he doesn't take the threat of it that seriously or he's recklessly putting at risk former senior officials,' she concluded. Bolton—still facing very real Iranian peril—was more blunt. 'Why doesn't he think about the assassination threat against him and his former officials? Well, he's as safe as anybody, and he doesn't care about the rest of us.'
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
FedEx retires a dozen freighter aircraft in efficiency move
FedEx Corp. said Tuesday that it permanently retired 12 aircraft and took a $21 million impairment charge during the fourth quarter as part of an effort to streamline the air network in line with demand and modernize the fleet. The Memphis, Tennessee-based express logistics giant said it removed seven Airbus A300-600 aircraft, three large MD-11 tri-engine freighters and two Boeing 757-200 (large narrowbody) freighter aircraft from the fleet. It also got rid of eight engines. During the fourth quarter in 2024, FedEx decommissioned 22 Boeing 757 cargo jets. FedEx (NYSE: FDX) said in its previous earnings report on March 20 that it had exercised options to buy eight Boeing 777 freighters and pushed back retirement of the MD-11 fleet from 2028 until 2032 because of strong international parcel demand. It also announced plans to acquire 10 additional ATR 72-600 turboprop freighter aircraft, with deliveries scheduled for the tail end of the decade. The aircraft retirements reduce FedEx's fleet to 698 aircraft, comprising 382 mainline jets and 316 feeder planes operated by partner airlines. FedEx's fleet size has ranged from 670 to 710 aircraft since 2018. FedEx still has 90 757s, 34 MD-11s and 58 A300-600s in service. FedEx is flying less in the United States after its contract with the U.S. Postal Service expired in September, its strategy to pursue premium international air cargo that is traditionally consolidated and booked on airlines by freight forwarders has increased the need for widebody freighters. FedEx reported revenues for the quarter ended May 31 inched up less than 1% to $22.2 billion and that operating margin increased 8% due to structural cost reductions in its multi-year Drive initiative and higher volumes at FedEx Express. Click here for more FreightWaves/American Shipper stories by Eric Kulisch. FedEx says economic uncertainty slowing parcel and freight demand FedEx taps leaders from within for LTL spinoff, to Wall Street's dismay FedEx converts parcel freighter to heavy cargo operation The post FedEx retires a dozen freighter aircraft in efficiency move appeared first on FreightWaves. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Vancouver Sun
4 days ago
- 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.
Toronto Sun
4 days ago
- General
- Toronto Sun
Pan Am nostalgia takes flight under new ownership
A hotel is planned for a shopping centre near LA, and soon you'll be able to book an evening on the relaunched Pan Am Experience Published Jun 24, 2025 • Last updated 10 minutes ago • 6 minute read Seats on the new Pan Am flight. Photo by Elizabeth Angell / Bloomberg Reviews and recommendations are unbiased and products are independently selected. Postmedia may earn an affiliate commission from purchases made through links on this page. 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. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account 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. 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. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 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. 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. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 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. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 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. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 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.') This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 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. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 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. NHL Sunshine Girls Sunshine Girls World Other Sports
Bloomberg
19-06-2025
- Bloomberg
Pan American Airways Is Back, But It's Not What It Seems
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 on Tuesday 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 $59,950 per person for double occupancy, $5,600 more for single occupancy.
