# A Little Bit of PanAm Lives On! **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 31, 2010, 5:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-little-bit-of-panam-lives-on/534430 "2010-03-31T05:39:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2010, 5:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-little-bit-of-panam-lives-on/534430/1 "2010-03-31T05:39:33Z")
Check this out-Imagine the looks you get from fellow travellers, as you pack your PanAm travel bag in the overhead! > **[PAN AM BRANDS LICENSING](http://www.panambrands.com)** I wonder how much nostalgia there is for Pan American Airlines-too bad their revival didn’t go off! ---
**Author:** ![Raza](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/raza/32/213_2.png) [@Raza](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raza)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2010, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-little-bit-of-panam-lives-on/534430/2 "2010-03-31T13:59:41Z")
As a former Pan Am employee I was interested…but the prices seem rather high for the apparent quality of the goods (perhaps they are higher quality than what appears from the description). ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2010, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-little-bit-of-panam-lives-on/534430/3 "2010-03-31T14:22:46Z")
I have a couple of vintage PanAm bags. For a long, long time I had one from the '60s. We flew PanAm when we moved to Japan, and that bag was either mine or my sister’s. It’s possible I still have it in a box in the storage unit; but as I recall, the zipper was broken. For me, PanAm was always the American airline. **ralph** : I’ve seen those bags in a shop in downtown Seattle. ---
**Author:** ![fusoya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecccb3/32.png) [@fusoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fusoya)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2010, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-little-bit-of-panam-lives-on/534430/4 "2010-03-31T15:00:08Z")
The PanAm name and logo got revived a couple years ago - as a RAILROAD. Guilford and Springfield Terminal freight companies merged and their new president was surprisingly a big aviation buff, and so bought the rights to the name and Pan Am Railways was born. They recently merged with Norfolk Southern and are now Pan Am Southern. The Amtrak Downeaster train that runs to Portland Maine uses Pan Am trackage in ME and NH. ---
**Author:** ![Dorjan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dorjan/32/12440_2.png) [@Dorjan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dorjan)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2010, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-little-bit-of-panam-lives-on/534430/5 "2010-03-31T15:17:14Z")
I’ve seen those bags in the gift shop of the Smithsonian National Museum of American History. Pricey, but they seemed to be of fairly high quality. ---
**Author:** ![Labdad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/439d5e/32.png) [@Labdad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labdad)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2010, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-little-bit-of-panam-lives-on/534430/6 "2010-03-31T15:56:27Z")
Don’t forget, PanAm was featured prominently in [_2001: A Space Odyssey_](http://www.fantastic-plastic.com/PAN%20AM%20SPACE%20CLIPPER%20PAGE.htm). Rather a pity PamAm didn’t survive to 2001! ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2010, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-little-bit-of-panam-lives-on/534430/7 "2010-03-31T16:17:19Z")
I’m taking a weekend trip in June. I know what bag I’m taking! 😃 (One of the vintage ones. I don’t have a reproduction. Maybe I should get one?) ---
**Author:** ![joebuck20](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/74df32/32.png) [@joebuck20](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joebuck20)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2010, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-little-bit-of-panam-lives-on/534430/8 "2010-03-31T17:12:36Z")
> [@fusoya](#): > > The PanAm name and logo got revived a couple years ago - as a RAILROAD. Guilford and Springfield Terminal freight companies merged and their new president was surprisingly a big aviation buff, and so bought the rights to the name and Pan Am Railways was born. They recently merged with Norfolk Southern and are now Pan Am Southern. The Amtrak Downeaster train that runs to Portland Maine uses Pan Am trackage in ME and NH. Apparently the name has also been used by several regional airlines over the years. > **[Pan Am | Reuse of name](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pan_American_World_Airways#Reuse_of_name)** > > Aside from the aforementioned flight academy, the Pan Am brand has been resurrected four times since 1991, but the reincarnations were related to the original Pan Am in name only. > Pan American World Airways trademarks and some assets were purchased by Eclipse Holdings, Inc., at an auction by the US Bankruptcy Court on December 2–3, 1993. The scheduled airline rights were sold to Pan American Airways on December 20–29, 1993, by Eclipse Holdings, which was to retain the Pan Am charter rights and o... ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2010, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-little-bit-of-panam-lives-on/534430/9 "2010-03-31T19:25:24Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > I have a couple of vintage PanAm bags. For a long, long time I had one from the '60s. We flew PanAm when we moved to Japan, and that bag was either mine or my sister’s. It’s possible I still have it in a box in the storage unit; but as I recall, the zipper was broken. > > For me, PanAm was always the American airline. > > **ralph** : I’ve seen those bags in a shop in downtown Seattle. I saw them there last week, too! You could get the zipper repaired easily. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2010, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-little-bit-of-panam-lives-on/534430/10 "2010-03-31T20:25:39Z")
> [@needscoffee](#): > > I saw them there last week, too! We should meet for coffee. If you need any coffee. ---
**Author:** ![dasmili](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/df788c/32.png) [@dasmili](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dasmili)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2010, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-little-bit-of-panam-lives-on/534430/11 "2010-03-31T20:36:42Z")
They used to sell those bags at the Smithsonian store at the airport where I work. I did a double take when I saw them! I’ve also seen an aircraft done up in Pan Am colors on the taxiway a couple years ago. I figured it was for a movie or something… ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2016, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-little-bit-of-panam-lives-on/534430/12 "2016-10-05T19:54:14Z")
Bumped. The Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Mich. carries Pan Am gear too: [http://giftshop.thehenryford.org/catalogsearch/result/?q=pan+am](http://giftshop.thehenryford.org/catalogsearch/result/?q=pan+am) ---
**Author:** ![h.sapiens](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e0b2c6/32.png) [@h.sapiens](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/h.sapiens)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2016, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-little-bit-of-panam-lives-on/534430/13 "2016-10-05T20:00:08Z")
I bought one a couple of years ago. It’s good quality, both materials and workmanship. More than one person has commented on it. ---
**Author:** ![furryman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/furryman/32/99_2.png) [@furryman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furryman)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2016, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-little-bit-of-panam-lives-on/534430/14 "2016-10-05T20:08:54Z")
If I remember right the Pan Am logo survives at Epcot center although the name has been removed. ---
**Author:** ![Fleetwood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fleetwood/32/271_2.png) [@Fleetwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fleetwood)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2016, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-little-bit-of-panam-lives-on/534430/15 "2016-10-06T13:50:26Z")
I see these frequently in New Hampshire and Maine: [http://www.panamrailways.com/index.php?main\_page=gallery&zenid=mm9pqlefj2kvreeifql3nsiqn7](http://www.panamrailways.com/index.php?main_page=gallery&zenid=mm9pqlefj2kvreeifql3nsiqn7) Once at site, click to enter gallery. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2016, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-little-bit-of-panam-lives-on/534430/16 "2016-10-06T14:32:03Z")
I’ve always had a soft spot for Pan Am, as it was my freedom bird out of Vietnam. It was a beautiful sight when it touched down. ---
**Author:** ![BwanaBob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bwanabob/32/2985_2.png) [@BwanaBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BwanaBob)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2016, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-little-bit-of-panam-lives-on/534430/17 "2016-10-10T12:56:42Z")
> [@dasmili](#): > > They used to sell those bags at the Smithsonian store at the airport where I work. I did a double take when I saw them! I’ve also seen an aircraft done up in Pan Am colors on the taxiway a couple years ago. I figured it was for a movie or something… The defunct TV show “Pan Am” used to film at Long Island MacArthur Airport in Islip, NY. They had a borrowed jet painted in Pan Am colors for filming. I used to work on an aircraft parked nearby and got a kick out of seeing Pan Am come back to life. My Dad worked for them in the 60’s-80’s. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2016, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-little-bit-of-panam-lives-on/534430/18 "2016-10-10T13:41:34Z")
What does any of this have to do with arts and culture, anyway? ---
**Author:** ![Enola\_Straight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dec6dc/32.png) [@Enola\_Straight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enola_Straight)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2016, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-little-bit-of-panam-lives-on/534430/19 "2016-10-11T01:11:02Z")
Never underestimate the power of nostalgia for defunct brands. Apparel for American Motors and International Harvester. [http://planethoustonamx.com/amx\_parts/amc\_parts.htm](http://planethoustonamx.com/amx_parts/amc_parts.htm) > **[International Harvester - Long Sleeve T-shirts - Toys, Books, & Gifts -...](http://farmallparts.com/International_Harvester_Long_Sleeve_T_shirts/p24809)** > > Farmall Parts sells International Harvester Farmall tractor parts including Cub and Super A & C I assume that Chrysler and Navistar, respectively, have liscenced these products.