by Did you know that there are people all over the world who are completely obsessed with Pan Am? A 12-day anniversary trip celebrating the US airline’s legendary service and cultural icon status, Looking Transatlantic, takes place in June 2025 aboard a chartered 757-200 private all-business class, but it doesn’t come cheap.
Inspired by the original Pan Am Flying Boat routes of the 1930s, the trip – for 50 Pan Am groups willing to pay at least US$60,000 (around £45,500) per person for the privilege – will start and finish in New York City, with stops in Bermuda, Lisbon, Marseille, London and Faing in Ireland, staying in the best hotels and enjoying incredible experiences along the way.
It starts and ends with a night – and a big dinner – at the Waldorf Astoria in New York, which reopens in December after a major renovation. Other hotels include Rosewood in Bermuda, The Savoy in London and Dromoland Castle in County Clare, venues with a fascinating history. There will be a fado evening in Lisbon and dinner at the Flying Boat Museum in Faing, which houses the only full-scale Pan Am Flying Boat replica in the world.
The concept was conceived by Bartelings, a Cyprus-based specialist in private aircraft touring around the world, led by Gary Bartelings. “The trip is designed to be a great social experience like in Pan Am communities and because it’s a private charter, people can move around and mix more, creating a real sense of camaraderie that you wouldn’t find in person another. flights,” says Bartelings. The company is partnered with the Pan Am Museum Foundation in Long Island, which was founded in 2015 by a group of former Pan Am flight attendants and The Pan Am Brand (you wouldn’t believe how much merchandise is still being produced, they love it in South Korea).
“The people have always been Pan Am’s secret sauce,” says Linda Freire, co-founder of the museum and a Pan Am flight attendant for 12 years. “You have to be present and attractive to work there. Many of our passengers were frequent flyers and we would see them several times a month and get them together. They have grown to expect the highest level of service from us. Don’t worry, nothing too big to deal with, I’m a Pan Am flight attendant, I can handle it. That’s our narrative.”
Food has always been a central part of Pan Am’s offering. They had a caviar bar, a famous chateaubriand carved on the spot using large butcher knives that you would never find near an airplane today and in the 1950s Maxim’s of Paris had legendary designed menus. The team is currently studying Pan Am’s original programs for inspiration (“It won’t be quite the same – things have moved on since 1991. Back then, they served Moët. Today, it probably needs from us Dom Perignon.”).
“Pan Am has always tried to emulate the experience of an ocean liner,” said the mother of a friend who often flew with the airline. “At one point in the 1970s, that famous spiral staircase led up to a beautiful candlelit dining room. They served lobster, caviar and roast beef carved at the table and served on a bone china. We all got dressed up and the Pan Am stewards were also glamorous. Words and manners and grooming were important at that time.”
My own American grandfather was a frequent Pan Am flyer around the world in the 1940s and 50s when he worked in the advertising industry. He was even a member of their Clipper Club ‘by invitation only’. He wrote a memoir (never published) with many details of his travels.
“They gave us a champagne breakfast on our flight to Honolulu, that must be the earliest I’ve ever had a drink,” he wrote of a Pan Am flight in the early 1950s. “But it meant everyone in the cabin promptly fell asleep until lunchtime. When I woke up the rangers were coming around with steaming hot towels and told us to bury our faces in them and it would revive us. That was a new trick for me but it worked and I still use it to this day.”
In true Pan Am style, the aircraft will feature modern lie-apartment seating for next year’s adventure, bypassing public airports and enjoying expedited customs and immigration at each port of call and configured for a maximum of 50 passengers to carry a ‘buddy’ arrangement, which means a friend from across the plane can join you at a small table, to play cards, drink champagne or both. It is chartered from Iceland and its pilots and flight attendants will be outfitted in full retro-style Pan Am uniforms.
Sorry, if you’re hoping to pick up a ticket you’re too late. Pan Am announced their return a few weeks ago and the trip is already sold out. Organizers are in the process of adding a second identical itinerary and plans are in the works for others, including a centenary ‘around the world’ trip in 2027.
“Over my entire traveling life, I covered close to a million miles, mostly by air, with more than 150 transatlantic and transpacific crossings,” wrote Grandpa Tom. “But I still think the Pan Am stratocruiser was one of the most comfortable airplanes ever designed – a wide cabin full of open bar, lounge, big folding chairs and footrests that felt like feather beds.”
For some, it seems, now and then, only Pan Am will do.
Fundamentals
The 12-day Pan Am Tracing the Transatlantic voyage runs from 27 June-9 July 2025, from $59,950 per person based on two sharing or $65,500 single, including all flights and accommodation, most of the meals and drinks and exclusive branded swag. bag. criteriontravel.com
Was Pan Am back lost? Five more travel experiences for the super rich
Sail the seven seas
Regent Seven Seas is offering a 140-night all-inclusive cruise aboard one of its newest Explorer ships. The ultra-luxurious, all-suite Splendour will depart from Miami on January 11, 2027 and slip into 71 ports in 40 countries across six continents, taking in the Caribbean, Pacific Islands, Australia, New – Zealand, Asia, Africa and Europe. .
Veranda Suites start from £77,199 per guest, or book the 4,443 sq ft Regent Suite for £1,342,478 for two. rssc.com
Immerse yourself in Maori culture
Luxury adventure travel experts Pelorus are offering the 10-night Aerial Exploration of Aotearoa tour, enjoying New Zealand’s natural beauty and cultural treasures. There will be scenic helicopter flights, outdoor adventures and cultural immersions, exploring the volcanic Mount Taraera, the beautiful shores of the Bay of Islands, buggy racing across Cape Reinga and taking part in a traditional Maori ceremony.
From £90,000 per person, based on four adults. pelorustravel.com
Safari by hot air balloon
Luxury specialist Scott Dunn is launching a 10-night airborne safari across Ruaha National Park in southern Tanzania in 2025. Led by James Suter, one of Africa’s top private guides, the trip will use a hot air balloon as the any means of transport, to move from authentic but upscale camp to camp, following big cats, elephants and more, from above.
From £40,000 per person based on two sharing, excluding international flights, with no fixed departure dates. scottdunn.com
Alaska’s coast with superlatives
Explore southeast Alaska with Eyos Expeditions, specialists in private explorer yacht charters. This seven-night sea and land cruise will see you cruise down stunning fjords flanked by towering granite walls, take zodiac cruises and kayak through floating ice, all while enjoying sightings of killer whales , humpback whales, large sea lions and even brown and black. bears along the way.
From US$245,000 per person. eaos-expeditions.com
Penguin watching in Antarctica
Taking place in November and December 2024, this trip offers unique access to the amazing emperor penguin colony in Atka Bay in Antarctica. You will see over 14,000 breeding pairs and their newly hatched chicks – a thrilling spectacle in the continuous daylight of the Antarctic summer. Based at White Desert’s Whichaway Camp, you’ll also be able to hike, ice climb and abseil.
Six-day Early Emperors tour from $68,500 per person, including return flights and transfers from Cape Town to Antarctica. white-desert.com
