Pan America Airways Crew Layover Hotels

Pan American Airways

Crew Layovers

The best of times.

PAA 1/31/1966-12/04/1991

Hard at work at the navigator's station, Boeing 707, somewhere over the Pacific.

A Navigator's Definition of Latitude & Longitude:

Latitude is Where We are Lost, & Longitude is How Long We've been Lost There

For you X Navigators

Click here for a great article on early navigation and Amelia Earhart.

This site is under continuous development by me, Claude Hudspeth. It has been paid for through 2024, so it will be here for at least that long even if I'm not.

A little layover hotel information you will find interesting..

Jeff Kriendler and Diane Roberts at in-flight service (Vice Presidents) and Peter Gregor & Walt Mullikan (Vice President and Senion Vice President, respectively) were extremely, inspiring leaders - Michael Sullivan (Director - In flight Services-Europe) injected great teamwork cooperation! Jeff Kriendler, Flight Operations at JFK, deserves a special -mention: Two thirds of the crew layovers annual budget belonged to In- Flight Services: David Israelite and Walter Duke were on Cockpit Layover Committee who coordinated on surveys and hotel selection.

In Pan Am's hey day, we purchased around, 1.1 million room nights (plus, ancillary services such as, crew transport, laundry and valet/etc;): Our annual budget reached $120.0 million worldwide:

Pan Am's average effective room rate in cash was under $60.00 plus, some barter (restrict in high season for Pan Am): This figure was included even, when the U.S dollar was at it's lowest in the 90's and the late 80's) - The hotels were 5- to high 4- stars -

We are all proud, gratified to have been the iconic and our beloved employer, Pan Am!

Aftab Hassan

(1964-1991) - NYCEOPA

At present there are 81 cities and over 161 hotels on this site. If you have any, please send them to me (cbh3ed@gmail.com) so I can make all of this site as interesting as the Princess in Bangkok, Roberts Field, the Metropole in Karachi, and the CAAC in Beijing.

Here are a couple of locations which I have forgotten the name of the hotel we used. Rabat, Casablanca.

Crew Layover Hotels

Web Links Relating to Pan Am

Pan Am Building in Honolulu

Pressing Home on your keyboard will return you to the opening page. Clicking the return on your browser will return you to the the city menu. You may also scroll though the entire site.

Hotels by Cities

Abidjan	Amsterdam	Anchorage	Ankara	Antigua	Athens	Auckland	Bahrain	Bangkok	Barbados
Beijing	Beirut	Bermuda	Bombay	Boston	Brussels	Bucharest	Buenos Aires	Caracas	Cairo
Chicago	Copenhagen	Dakar	Damascus	Djakarta	Douala	Dubai	Frankfurt	Frobisher	Fuji
Guam	Guatemala City	Hamburg	Helsinki	Hong Kong	Honolulu	Istanbul	Johannesburg	Kabul	Karachi
Krakow	Lisbon	London	Manila	Mexico City	Miami	Montevideo	Moscow	Munich	Nairobi
Blank	Blank	New Delhi	New York	Oslo	Pago Pago	Paris	Port of Spain	Panama City	Prestwick
Blank	Rio de Janeiro	Roberts Field	Rome	San Francisco	San Jose	San Juan	Santiago	San Salvador	St. Maarten
Seoul	Shanghai	Shannon	Singapore	St. Thomas	Sydney	Tahiti	Taipei	Tokyo	Warsaw
Teheran	Vienna	Wake	Zagreb

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Honolulu.

Moana Hotel

"During the "boat-days" and after, until about 1950, our layover in HNL was at the Moana Hotel. The fifth and sixth floors were set aside for PAA crews. The Outrigger Club, next door, extended membership privileges to the crews and we made good use of them. When the club moved to the Diamond Head end of Waikiki we were offered a visitor membership for the grand fee of $10 per year!" Tom Kewin

Royal Hawaiian Manor

Yes, the Manor is still there. It is used for offices by the Sheraton. The two top floors have been completely remodeled. The other floors are pretty much as we left them, with some walls removed here and there. Even the carpet looks the same.

We were staying at the Sheraton Waikiki in February 2009 with a room that looked down on the Manor (above) that gave me the idea to do a web site of all the crew layover hotels. If for no other reason, if you can't remember the name of a hotel you stayed at someplace, you should be able to find it here.

Zan Owen in Muumuu

Princess

Ambassador

Ala Moana

Pool Side Ala Moana

Ala Moaua Yacht Club

Crew Photos by Tori Johnson-Kelso

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Pago Pago.

InterContinental Rainmaker

(Photos Courtesy Zan Owen Ward)

(Zan is the author of The World-My Oyster-Thank You-Pan Am)

Photos courtesy of Sharon Chester (above)

Click here for current information on the Rainmaker

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Djakarta

Hotel Indonesia InterContinental

(The part we stayed in is on the right)

Bangkok.

Need a photo of the enterance to the hotel.

Princess Hotel

(Need Picture of Exterior)

Zan Owens Ward

Photos Courtesy of Zan Owen Ward

Photo courtresy of Mary Lou Bigelow

Pan Am dinning Room Kitchen Staff and Louis Berman, Manager

In spite of having its own dining room, the owners of the Princess Hotel on New Road, were most gracious in permitting Pan Am having its own dining facility , namely, a The Crew Dining Room. The dining room was open l, to all BKK based PanAm personnel and their families, to all other PanAm personnel whether in transit, or on company business or on vacation etc..as well . Crew members however had priority over all other categories of personnel. At the time I was there, 1956-1959, BKK was administered by the Pacific-Alaska Division (PAD) and it delineated the '' Border ' between the PAD and the Atlantic Divisions . It was at this point like two different companies. When a Round-the -World (RTW) transited BKK there was even a variation in certain parts of the crew uniforms, namely the cap covers (Always white covered for the PAD and same for the ATL in summer..and no cap cover in winter etc) Different procedures were also in order as far as galley equipment arrangements were concerned , different catering and maintenance procedures, i.e what may be a 'Go' item for the ATL, may be a 'No-Go' for PAD,..All in all a challenge and a great place to develop team sprit with the crews, and thus it was. The dining room operated 365 - 7 X 7 - 24 hours / Day.

Crew members could be served food, snacks or refreshments any time they so wished but in particular when the they arrived from KHI at midnight, while the HKG bound ones readied themselves to pick up where the others had left off..etc.. A vast assortment of foods and among others, of much appreciated exotic fruit.was was available , the latter previously disinfected with permanganate potassium as instructed by the company Medical Director . Other hygienic practices were also strictly enforced . Same, not only concerned the food items supplied for the working crews, but for in-flight passenger provisioning as well, as the latter was also prepared in the same facility...Water sources by all means were not overlooked. In addition ALL food handling personnel , whether working the dining room or aircraft provisioning , were periodically subjected to a medical control by Dr Ettringer who had been appointed by the Pacific-Alaska (PAD) Medical Director. Hygienic measures also applied to dining room and kitchen equipment & utensils ,as well as to equipment used for in-flight catering.. To ensure in-flight safety, a so called ' Captain's Choice was also provisioned.

Reverting to the Princess Hotel, to the best of my recollection, it had no facade fronting New Road. To enter one proceeded through a covered carriage way so to speak, used primarily for , hotel guests etc.. It was lined with a couple of shops, one being owned by a charming young Indian lady - Jewelry and all sorts of interesting other items. Past the shops, one emerged into an open sky inner courtyard. To the left of it was the hotel swimming pool. To the right, the Princess Hotel adminstrative offices, the hotel's own dining room, and then close by, the back, the ' The Crew Dining Room '....ALL fronting the pool, a pool which had great success with our crews as one can well imagine.. Relaxation after long flights assured.

That night club you mention.I remember it well. It was not exactly next door, but almost if we are talking about the same place. The one I have in mind and is probably the same you mention was on New Road, on the same side of it as the Princess but to get to it one had to cross Sunwongse Road where the PanAm district sales and admin. offices were located in the Thoresen Bldg.

"The name of the bar that we used to go to after getting to the Princess Hotel in Bangkok was the Dew-Drop-Inn on Oriental Avenue. Just up from the Oriental Hotel." Barb Longnecker Cain

The night club Barbara mentions is not the one I recall. In my time, the one I have in mind ,was not far from the Princess, on the same side of New Road but across Suriwongse Road, around the corner of the e Thoresen Building where Pan Am's District Sales and Administrative offices were located.. But no matter which, Bangkok was never short of night clubs. Louis Berman

Jocelyne Nowaski in the center.

Click here for current Information on the Rainmaker

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Bermuda

Princess Hotel

"From NY I flew a lot of Bermuda shuttles in the DC-6B, often with Trippe and his guests aboard when he owned the Princess Hotel and that's where we stayed on Bermuda layovers. That's when 1st class was in the back rather than the front of the plane and I'd always make one trip down the aisle and he would introduce me around to a bunch of names that I wish I could remember now... Sen. Brewster and CEO Charlie Wilson of GM come to mind. When we flew a "W" with an overnight in Boston we got 1st class treatment at the old Copley Square Hotel where there was always a convention or wedding party going on." Lee Nelson

Castle Harbor Hotel

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Damascus

Omayad Hotel

"With a couple times a week schedule and the unreliable Connies we spent a lot of time at the "Oh My God" Hotel in Damascus on the NY to Calcutta run in the '40s. It's hard for me to believe but this interment photo looks like the Omayad Hotel where we stayed on the second floor. The entrance was on a corner like this and across the lobby as you entered was a small brass open cage elevator that slowly ground it's way from floor to floor and gave gawking locals a glimpse of the future.. The large windows were then open 24/7 to the sounds of busy street noise, camels, hawkers, and amplified calls to prayer." Lee Nelson

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Beirut.

Phoenicia InterContinental

A MAJESTIC LANDMARK ON THE MEDITERRANEAN SEA Overlooking the Mediterranean Sea, the InterContinental Phoenicia Beirut is situated along the famous boardwalk “Corniche,” a few minutes from the city’s business and banking district, and the ever lively and entertaining “Down Town” city centre. Beirut International Airport is only a few kilometres away. The historic sites of Beiteddine, Baalbeck and The Cedars are well worth the drive. The InterContinental Phoenicia Beirut is a historic landmark in Lebanon and the Middle East.

Photos Marianne Jonsson Nisco

PAA 1962-1986

Photos courtesy of Mary Lou (Moore) Bigelow

1962-1964

http://www.maryloubigelow.com/blog/

Le Cave and the Tavern Swiss apear to be no more.

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London.

Kensington Palace Hotel

Athenaeum Court

Here's an anecdote about the Athenium Court from the '60s. Captians stayed in small suits which were on the back of the hotel. Early one morning there was a fire in the hotel; the captain I was flying with (name forgotten) crawled out of his first floor room onto the wide ledge (they were under the windows on all floors). When I walked around to the backside of the hotel to watch the fire brigade in action, captain ??? was sitting in his pajamas on the ledge which was perhaps 12 or 14 feet above street level. An alarmed fireman shouted at him through a bull horn "sir, don't jump!" The world's most experienced cupped his hands to his mouth and shouted back, "don't worry." Greg Buckner

Chelsea Closters

Sheraton Skyline

Grosvenor House

Millennium

Cavendish St James

Park Lane

Sheraton Park Tower

Skyline at Heathrow

Crew Photo by Tori Johnson-Kelso

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Wake Island

Pan American Guest House 1930s

Louis Berman

Port Steward-1954

See Louis at Bangkok

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Guam

Guamerica

(Could use some pictures taken here)

Cliff Hotel

(Red Carpet restaurant is still there)

Okura

Guam Hilton-(Our last hotel in Guam, 1986).

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Suva-Fiji

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Tahiti

InterContinental Taharra-Papeete

Click here for more information on this famous hotel

Photos courtesy of Sharon Chester

Tamure dancers on the beach at the "unofficial" crew layover hotel, the Bali Hai Moorea

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New Delhi.

Ashoka Hotel

This hotel is one of New Delhi's most distinctive landmarks and has hosted some of India's most important national and international events. The hotel was first made famous when the UNIDO conference was held here in 1956 which was the first ever international event held in India since it asserted its independence. The Ashok Hotel is situated just two kilometers from the Presidential Palace and is a short drive to the International Airport. The pink wall structure boasts 550 rooms ranging from modern double rooms to glamorous Presidential suites with each room containing broadband internet, mini bar and television with satellite channels. The hotel features a whole host of recreational facilities including a full fitness center, swimming pool, Spa, tennis court and a jogging track and also contains a staggering 12 restaurants serving food from all corners of the world such as Lebanese, Korean, Chinese and, of course, Indian.

Crew Photos by Tori Johnson-Kelso

Oberoi Hotel

Overlooking an 18-hole golf course, Oberoi is located approximately one mile from Delhi Zoo and 15 miles from Indira Gandhi International Airport. The Oberoi has five exclusive restaurants: La Rochelle & Wine Bar for continental cuisine, The Palms for all day dining, Taipan for Cantonese and Szechuan cuisine, Baan Thai for Thai cuisine, and The Kandabar for Indian cuisine. There are also two bars, a beauty parlor, and a shopping arcade on site. Room service is available 24 hours a day.

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Kabul

InterContinental

Click her for information on this hotel.

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Rome

Metropole

"We stopped for drinks at the Metropole the last time we were in Rome. Do you remember the name of the restaurant near there everyone called the 'three brothers'? That wasn't it - it was the Coq'd Ore or some other thing with 'gold' in the name." Greg Buckner

Under the picture of the Hotel Metropole, Greg Buckner asked what the real name of the restaurant everybody called, "The Brothers, or Three Brothers," is. The real name is, "Trattoria Nuova Stella, owned by the Fedeli brothers, and still open. Neither place looks anything like it did back in the day. Thanks for the site! Frank Rizzuto - NYCOQPA (1966-1981)

"Me" is Zan Owen Ward (1959)

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Vienna

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Lisbon

Hotel Palaco-Estoril

Embaixador Hotel (Photo-Marianne Edwards)

(Now a Comfort Inn)

Estoril-Sol

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Barbados

Sam Lord's Castle

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Frobisher

"The company staff house was the ultimate. The kitchen was open 24 hours a day." Tom Kewin

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Anchorage

Captain Cook

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Tokyo.

Imperial Hotel

(Frank Loyd Wrights masterpiece; The Imperial Hotel. Duck your head! The door to the bathroom is only 6 feet high. Tom Kewin)

Palace Hotel

(This hotel has been demolished and is being replaced)

Narita View

(Any one have a picture of the crew dinning room/)

Keio Plaza

Crew Photos by Tori Johnson-Kelso__________________________________________________________________________

Taipei.

Sheraton

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Seoul

Grand Hyatt

Lotte Hotel

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Hong Kong.

Peninsula Hotel

"We were picked up at the airport by a green Rolls Royce limousine." Tom Kewin

Park Hotel

Hyatt Regency

Crew Photos by Tori Johnson-Kelso

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Shanghai

Cathy Hotel

"PAA was drowning in Chinese currency since they couldn't exchange it for greenbacks. The crews just signed for meals in the very posh dining room. Shrimp cocktail, steak, potatoes, and a baked alaska for dessert." Tom Kewin

(Need name and photo of last hotel)

Shanghai Zoo -Fiona Rogers, Babs Blythe, Feliciano, Larry Fry, Unknown, Al Holman, Ken Bray (sitting) Larry Sutter, Unknown, Claude Hudspeth, Linda Rinike, Pam Lazar.

Hello Claude,
I just saw your website of PAA crew layover hotels. It brings back so many
good memories. Thank you!
I flew from 1968-1984 out of JFK and SFO. We must have been on the same
Shanghai trip because I am in the photo of the crew at the Shanghai zoo! I,
Fiona Rogers, am 1st on the left, and I know Ken Bray is the steward
kneeling in front. I don't remember the others' names. I remember that day
very well when the whole crew left the hotel early to swing by the Shanghai
Zoo on the way to the airport to see the panda bears! The whole crew was
busily staring at the Panda bears and I looked back and there was a crowd of
Chinese busily staring at us! The Chinese had not seen many Americans at
that time.
Thank you for bringing back wonderful memories with your photos of our
layover hotels.
Sincerely,
Fiona

In the shanghai zoo photo I know a few of the people.
Babs Blythe is the redhead with her arm up, next to her the male F/a who is slumping is Larry Fry and the male in the front kneeling is Larry Sutter. Are all still flying with UAL.
GREAT Memories in with the hotel photos. THANK you for all your work.
Anne

Anne Beeby

Hi Claude,

The steward next to Babs is Feliciano, sitting is Ken Bray, in the dress is Linda Rinike, and behind her is Pam Lazar.

Great job!

Roseanna

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Beijing

CAAC Hotel-

(Need Picture)

"I remember staying at the old CAAC Hotel in Beijing in 1983, when we were first going into China. It was run by CAAC, which naturally was a branch of the government. It was like a military barracks, very austere, with a hall monitor strategically located on each floor where she (it always seemed to be a no-nonsense woman), could watch the entire corridor to make sure no one slipped from room-to-room. The wake-up call on the phone was always a gruff, "You! Wake up now!" It was right at the airport, and located next to a militayr installation so we could hear the trucks and troops being noisily mustered under our windows at first light. There was a huge radar antenna on top of a building no more that 50 yards from the hotel that rotated constantly. I could swear that I sort of vibrated every time it went around. I wonder how many people it sterilized." John Marshall

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Shannon.

Old Ground Hotel-Ennis

"It became so infested with rats we refused to stay there for a while." Tom Kewin

Shannon Shamrock Inn

Intercontinal Hote was demolished and replaced by a Strand hotel.

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Istanbul.

Hilton

InterContinental

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Teheran

Hilton (Now Esieghlal Grand Hotel)

Crew at opening of Royal Teheran Hilton, January 17, 1964

(Photo from Mary Lou Bigelow, far left)

InterContinental (Now Laleh International Hotel)

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Prestwick

Turnberry (Ice Palace)

Fabled white walls rise up to a thousand red tiles. An enchanting hotel, sentinel above historic lands. Here, the views fall away and away towards mystical islands and jagged mountains. The waves crash. A lighthouse stands guard. And between you and the safety of the fairway lies 200 yards of open water and perilous rock. This is what links golf is all about.

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Guatemala City.

Holiday Inn

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Panama City

La Siesta (Image from Agnes Asperslag)

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San Salvador

InterContinental Real

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Boston

Copley Square Hotel

"When we flew a "W" with an overnight in Boston we got 1st class treatment at the old Copley Square Hotel where there was always a convention or wedding party going on." Lee Nelson

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Chicago

Edgewater Beach Hotel (Since 1967 apartments)

Palmer House (Hilton)

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Miami.

Kings Inn (Now a Comfort Inn)

Marriott

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Seattle

Roosevelt Hotel

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San Francisco

Benjamin Franklin Hotel-San Mateo

"In the '40s and '50s before the big airport hotels were built the company put me up several times at the Benjamin Franklin Hotel in San Mateo which was closer than the city, It was the largest building in a small town and you couldn't miss it down the block on 3rd Ave when traveling El Camino Real. It had a very nice outdoor swimming pool and was close to restaurants and there was a good tailor (Murphey & Heartless ?) right across the street who made uniforms." Lee Nelson

Jack Tar Hotel

Click here for information on this hotel.

Sir Francis Drake

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New York.

Penn Garden Hotel (now Affinia Manhattan)

When I started with Pan Am in 1967, we stayed at the Penn Garden Hotel, on 7^th Ave. near Madison Sq. Gdns. I could not find it since I’m sure that it has changed names, but there was a fire station on the side street and the alarms would keep us awake while we tried to sleep during the day after an all-nighter From EZE. True story: Pat Cavalaris, a Purser from MIA, was getting ready for pick-up, running the shower with hot water to steam out her uniform and set her hair ( the days before portable irons and steam curlers). When she tried to go back to the room, the door would not open, so she went to the bathroom window, opened it, and tried to attract attention … some New Yorkers thought she was trying to jump … alerted the firemen and the front desk, they even had the trampoline for her to jump into. A fireman went to the room next door, and opened the window to convince her NOT to jump, so she calmly explained that her door was stuck and only wanted someone to open the door for her to finish getting dressed for pick-up ! They had to use a fire axe … too many coats of paint ? I wonder if that is one of the many reasons that the Doral and so many other hotels secured the windows so that they could not be opened ….Keep up the good work, Donna.

Doral Inn (Now W New York Hotel)

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Singapore

Intercontinatal Hotel (Courtesy Renate Schoof)

Grand Hyatt

Crew Photo by Tori Johnson-Kelso

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Rabat

(NEED A HOTEL PHOTO)

Pan Am charted this Caravel to fly this crew from Lisbon to Rabat.

Photo by Jocelyne Kowasky

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Dakar

La Meridien President

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Douala

Hotel Dex Cocotiers

(Now the Meridien)

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Roberts Field.

After my 3 years in BKK ( 1956-59), followed by an unpaid Leave of Absence to attend the world reknowned Swiss School of Hotel Management in Lausanne, Switzerland , I was offered a position at JFK14 ‘, Flight Service & Commissary headquarters .

While serving there, Paul Strieffler, a close personal assistant to Juan Trippe., approached me to organize the pre-opening and eventually to manage the Roberts Field Hotel..

I accepted.

Thus in 1961 , I was appointed General Manager, and remained in that position for three years..

The Roberts Field Hotel was inaugurated with a big bang, in the presence of Liberia’s President Wm.S. Tubman., and his retenue of notables.

It was located 30 miles from Monrovia, the capital.. It had been conceived to accomodate business people catching very early morning flights, ( To / from Europe, to / from North and South America and the Middle East ) , delayed passengers and crews not only Pan Am’s but KLM’s , SAS, & Air Liban as well. .

It had a restaurant manned by Swiss chef Bruno Forster , and Portuguese Maitre D’.Jorge da Silva, both well known and appreciated by all.

In addition, the hotel ‘s recreational facilities served as an oasis for the residents of the Roberts Field area, including the expatriated Firestone personnel , employed in the vast surrounding .hevea ( Rubber trees ) .plantations,. And other expatriates such as airport employees etc... ..And guess what ? For the Firestone ‘ bachelors, and some others, the hotel was heavens for it offered an additional attraction..A flight crew layover point. Louis Bermen

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The above from Agnew Asperslag

Photo-Marianne Edwards

Firestone Swimming Hole

Jocelyne Nowaski & Iggy Bocwinski, DSM

Coles Beach

General Information

The Roberts Field Hotel in Monrovia, Liberia situated Robert Field Int'l Airport can be contacted by phone +231721014. Here it is unfortunately not yet possible to book online. This accommodation Roberts Field Hotel would be glad to welcome you soon. The correct data depends on the update of the information through the management and cannot be guaranteed.

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Johannesburg

Carlton Hotel

Holiday Inn (Airport)

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Nairobi

InterContinental

Crew Photo by Tori Johnson-Kelso

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Brussels.

Metroploe

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Paris

Terrass Hotel

Zan Owen, Karen von Raden, Lennie Thorrel, forgot name, Chantal Besnard

At dinner in Paris. (Photo-Zan Owen Ward, 1959)

Hotel de Paris

(photos by Rejeanne Cote Touzot 1961-1965 and Marianne Edwards)

Scribe

(photo by Rejeanne. Now an InterContinental Hotel)

InterContinental

(Now The Westin Paris)

Jeri Kight Bailey

Le Meridien Montparmasse

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Frankfurt.

Metropole-Monopol

InterContinental

Gas Station

Jeri Kight-Mary Hutchinson-Dan Kovac

Crew Photo by Tori Johnson-Kelso

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Bombay

Sheraton Rajputana Place

Taj Mahal Palace

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St. Thomas

Bluebeards Castle

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Hotel Diamant Les Bains-Martinique

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Antigua

Hawksbill Hotel-Antigua

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St. Maarten

Caravanserai

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San Juan

Hotel Pierre & The Swiss Chalet

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Port of Spain

Piarco Guest House

"The Piarco Guest House in Trinidad was still standing this month (January,2010), it was used by the Government, but it will be demolished sometime this year. I got this info since I'm from there and an ex pilot, Richard Eckel, sent a verification." Donna Valdes

Hilton

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San Jose

Cariari

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Buenos Aires

City Hotel

"The bar where we would meet after we changed was always fun we would play Bidu Bidai (sp?), a fun game like liar's dice. This was during Presidente Peron's time and many foreign correspondents would hang out with us - for info and safety. Very dangerous times in B.A. through out the 50's. When Peron was re-elected -he died in office, and his wife Isabalita became Pres - during the mid 70's (again it became a dangerous place) the West Coast had South American trips. Thats all I flew as I was fluent in Spanish and had many friends still living there.Flying LAD was never dull." Evelyn David

Presidente Hotel

Old layover hotel was the Continental, on Diagonal Norte (fireplaces in the lobby and in every room!), before we moved to the El Presidente on Cerrito. Memories: The widest boulevard in the world, and only one traffic light between Ezeiza Airport and downtown; favourite restaurants (La Estancia, La Cabana, El Caballito Blanco - with a musical saw player!); shopping on Avenida Florida (leather, silver, paintings - and copper-clad milk cans!); Plaza Inglaterra, renamed Plaza Espana during the Falklands War; the Costaneira restaurants, along the banks of the River Plate; "meatless" weeks, when we enjoyed chivito (goat) instead of baby beef; the Argentine Air Force Museum at Aeroparque, including many British types and RAF films on display; La Boca (Italian section), with colourful buildings and tango establishments on the Caminito; no mini-skirts or public displays of affection allowed; the beautiful National Theatre; the super-structure of the scuttled German Graf Spee still visible at low tide; the windowless prison, nicknamed the Buenos Aires Hilton, near the cemetery; flying trips to the Bariloche ski resort while on long (5-day) layovers. A pedestrian overpass bridge at the edge of Ezeiza Airport had a spray-painted "welcome" message for American visitors: "Yanqui go home." One of our enterprising local PAA employees added a phrase - in equally large letters - that never failed to bring a smile to the faces of weary Clipper crews: "- Via Pan Am." !!! Dave "Mac" McLay

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Montevideo

Victoria Plaza Hotel

Dear Mr. Hudspeth

I had the occasion of taking a look at the very interesting site you are developing on the hotels Pan Am crews stayed at. In looking at the space devoted to MVD I remarked there is no picture but a legend stating that the old Victoria Plaza Hotel building has been replaced by a modern construction. This is only partially true. There is indeed a modern building which was built behind the original one. The original hotel building is still there, connected to the new one by a steel and glass bridge over a street, so that the access to the new Hotel is done through the remodeled lobby of the old one. That building is still being used for office space. I'’ve already talked to the marketing people at the Radisson and they promised to look for vintage photos. If I do get one, I’ll send it to you.

For a bit of history, I’ll tell you that I was with Pan Am in Montevideo from 1968 to 1991. Having been hired as an Accounting cashier, I was finally promoted to Country Manager in 1983, so the sad task of closing down the operations there fell upon me. If everything pans out OK, I’ll be attending the November celebrations in SFO

Yours,

José Luis Hernández

Montevideo, Uruguay
tel/fax +598 24801944
cel +598 (0) 99 6641

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Caracas

Tamanaco InterContinental (Photo-Marianne Edwards)

Sheraton Macuto

Crew Photo by Tori Johnson-Kelso

"Again, learned that day at the Macuto there was an unsolved murder of a Flt Eng.- plus a horrible T-storm that our staff were stuck at the airport and we could not layover there and continued or FIREBALLED to Port of Spain for many Rum and Cokes !!!" Evelyn David

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Rio de Janeiro.

Maramar

Old layover hotel was the Miramar Palace (v. Marama) on Avenida Atlantica (great tanga bikini-watching at Copacabana Beach, as we sipped gin & tonics on the front patio!), before we re-located to the IHC at Gavea. During one of many power failures at the Miramar Palace, we had to hoof it up to our rooms on the 12th floor, and then discovered a locked gate leading to the 14th floor roof bar; our LEC layover committee reported it as a safety hazard for evacuations but I don't recall if management ever corrected the condition. Carnaval and the samba schools were a magical experience, as were trips to Paqueta Island in Guanabara Bay (no motor vehicles, but lots of horse-drawn carriages), Brazilian stations dispensed local cash (cruzeiros) for layovers, which de-valued rapidly, sometimes during a four- or five-day layover! Dave "Mac" McLay

InterContinental

Sheraton

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Campinas.

Savoy Hotel

(Need Picture)

"The name of the Hotel in Campinas was the Savoy, it is no longer there, it is now a parking lot." Donna Valdez

"Hotel in Campinas was the Savoy. We ate at the Gaucho nearby." Carol Munn, MIA 1970-1991

VCP (Viracopos Airport serving nearby Campinas, and SAO - that did not have a jet runway in the 1960s) - Campinas layover hotel was the Savoy, on Rua Regente Feijo. LAD and NYOD crews consumed prodigious amounts of churrasco and Brahma Chopp beer during long layovers in that location, at the Churrascaria Gaucha, Casa Portugal (Frank's Bierhalle), the Armorial, and other garden spots . . . We had privileges at the local tennis club clay courts and enjoyed riding the "bondes" (streetcars). Local excursions included Cometa bus rides to Piracicaba ("place where the fishes run") and churrasco peixe (fish barbecue) at the Mirante Restaurant overlooking the waterfalls. Nearby Limeira and Lindoia were pretty colonial towns. The big city of Sao Paulo was a 2-hour Ava bus ride away, and visits included the Butantan Snake Institute. A former PAA pilot from MIA, who had been bitten by poisonous snakes many times, regularly donated his blood there for use in anti-venom shots. Dave "Mac" McLay

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Santiago

Sheraton-Santiago

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Bahrain

Sheraton

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Dubai

Hyatt Regency

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Abidjan

Ivoire InterContinental

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Karachi

Metropole

(Photos-Zan Owen Ward)

"The Hotel Metropole in Karachi where we had about two thirds of one floor blocked off for our exclusive use as crew accommodation. This included kitchens and dining rooms with staff to prepare and serve all meals as it was unsafe to eat out in restaurants or even in the dining room of the same hotel. Also included was a crew recreation room. The bedding and dining linens were done in our own laundry room washers & dryers by a staff of stewards who cleaned and made up the rooms. No hotel employees were or others were permitted access to these quarters to assure privacy and a quiet atmosphere that allowed sleep around the clock. The entire facility and staff were under the supervision of the Pan Am Station Operations Manager." Jim ........

Sheraton

InterContinental

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Mexico City

Holiday Inn-Airport

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Dahahran

Dhahran International Hotel

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Manila

Manila Hotel

(Hotel has been extensively remodeled. When I find a image of what it looked like when we stayed there, I'll replace this one)

Clark Field

Baguio Country Club

"In the 707 days, we flew a lot of military charters to Clarke Field, north of Manila. We had a four hour taxi ride up the mountains for a two or three day layover at the Baguio Country Club." Tom Kewin

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Dubrovnik

Croatia

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Bucharest

InterContinental

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Athens

InterContinental

Crew Photo by Tori Johnson-Kelso

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Munich

Regina Palast

Sheraton

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Nuremberg

La Meridien Grand

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Hamburg

InterContinenta

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Amsterdam.

Okura

Grand Hotel Krasnapolsky

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Sydney

Town House Hotel

Click here for the latest on the Town House Hotel

The Woolshed

Crew Photo by Tori Johnson-Kelso

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Zagreb

President

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Copenhagen

Sheraton (Now a Scandic Hotel0

Europa (Now a Danhostel)

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Warsaw

InterContinental

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Moscow

Cosmos

Ukraina

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Ankara

Hilton

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Oslo

Grand Hotel

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Helsinki

InterContinental Strand (Now a Hilton)

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Auckland

InterContinental (Now a Hyatt Regency)

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Krakow

Holiday Inn

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Cairo

Marriott

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10/14/2010

Hi Mr. Hudspeth,

I am Holly Lorenzo, daughter of Dan Lorenzo who was Captain with PAA. I live in CT. and have recently read about the upcoming demolition of the PAA Worldport at JFK airport that is slated to be done in the next year by Delta and the Port Authority. I would like to rally the troops of all these Pan Am "alumni" groups and see what we can all do to make the Worldport a "Landmark" status, just like the TWA building now is. This would have to be done, I believe, through the City of New York Landmarks Preservation Commission. ( I have the form for the "Request for Evaluation" already)

I think it is terrible that after much deliberation, Delta and the PA have decided to make a parking lot, of all things, out of this iconic building!! With all the history and service Pan Am has given to this country and world aviation ( even to Vietnam) not to mention the worldwide job creation for thousands of employees and subsidiary businesses, I cannot believe that this could even be considered. Pan Am received no government bailout when PA103 went down--an international terrorist attack victim--and if anyone should have been helped, it should have been Pan Am, our national carrier. I am very upset with this final decision of theirs to do this, after saying they may restore it.

I would like to know if you can help connect interested parties from Pan Am and beyond to fight this and if you would be willing to help to preserve those "Best of Times"? Pan Am deserves this and it is shameful to strip away every last vestige of this great airline. Why can't they refurbish the Worldport, make it a historical tourist focal point of the airport and of Delta and aviation in general? They could really romance that story of all of aviation here at JFK and make it very retro-modern. Every older building can be fixed if they want to, such as Grand Central Station was when NYC wanted to demolish it. Now it is one of the biggest attractions in NYC.

Do you or any of your contacts have any ideas as to how to initiate this or if anyone has already? It is time to act and we need the public to pursue this with us to save the Worldport and aviation history!

I am just taking a look at your website for the first time to see if some of the hotels I have stayed at with my father are there. Thank you for putting your site together--I love looking at these things. Much thanks to you for any help or advice you can give.

Holly

Links

Some links to Web sites relating to Pan America Airways. It seems Pan Am has not been forgotten.

Gone But Not Forgotten

The Long Way Home

History of Pan Am, Part I

Time Marches On

You Can't Beat the Experience

The Worlds Most Experience

China Clipper II

Tenerife, Crash of the Century

Pan Am 103, Part I