Pan Am News & Interviews

Pan Am Fan Interview with Olivia Cornwall

Hello Pan Am Fans - It's been a while since the last blog post, but I hope the tweets on the @PanAm_Fans twitter page, the Pan Am Box set on iTunes and the Pan Am Soundtrack have all been keeping your Pan Am spirits high. Earlier this month, ABC announced the sad news regarding the future of Pan Am - explaining the cancellation of the series. This was very sad news to Pan Am fans, but I would like to take this opportunity to say, Keep your hopes high, despite the cancellation, and the more we support the show, the better chance it has of being picked up by a cable channel. For more information feel free to tweet me at @PanAm_Fans or leave a comment on this blog post. As for the box set, it is still unknown if ABC will ever bother to release it on Amazon, despite it being on the website for months on end, however the full series is available to purchase through iTunes, in SD or HD, and there are websites that you are able to watch them from for free, (but for more information on that, tweet me!).

Whilst Pan Am has been off-air, my Pan Am twitter page (@PanAm_Fans) has been very busy with plenty of competitions, activities, quiz's and picture montages that followers have been taking part in, and one of the competitions was offering a Pan Am fan to win an interview on this Pan Am blog, which is viewed over 200 times a day! (Thank you all!) 

And so, quite a while ago I caught up with Olivia Rose Cornwall (@OliviaCornwall) and she told me why she loves Pan Am for the characters, the story lines, the love, the glamour, and travel and the 60's. Here's the interview: 

Hello Olivia, Tell us about yourself and how you got into Pan Am.

Hi!, My name is Olivia and I'm 15 and I live in the North - West of England. My dad told me about Pan Am the series! 

Who is your favourite character and why? Who would you say you are most alike, and who would you say is your least favourite and why?

The first episode I watched was the Pilot, So I started watching from the very begging! The Pilot is definitely one of my favourite episodes. When I first saw Pan Am I absolutely loved it. I had never seen anything like it before, It was completely unique.  The fashion, the music and the beautiful stewardesses were lovely to see in a new series.  It was just so different back then and I was really interested in the era. 

I love all the characters for different reasons. But I really love Colette and Kate. They are both so beautiful and they have great story lines. Plus I love Kate's hair - It's amazing! I love Colette because she is so optimistic and she's just so cute. The other characters are great too, but If I had to pick my favourite two, It's Colette & Kate all the way! 

I agree the show really is unique! Finally Olivia, why do YOU love Pan Am?

I absolutely LOVE Pan Am because it's so unique and it's lovely to see what life was like back in the 60's. Now I wish I lived to be a stewardess in that amazing era, and at that time of the airline. Pan Am is such an iconic airline and I love the history, for example when the Beatles flew to America and the J.F.K assassination. Maggie is so funny and I also love the humor on the show Such moving story lines that was such a breath of fresh air on British TV. I really hope there is a season 2 of Pan Am, and I'm not giving up hope! The cast are all lovely and the very loyal fans really deserve it. Thank you very much - and let's all support Pan Am for the future! - @OliviaCornwall

Thank you very much to Olivia for sharing her Pan Am love! If you would like the chance to take part in Pan Am competitions, stay tuned on the @PanAm_Fans twitter page! 

Have a great week, and for those in the UK, enjoy the British Diamond Jubilee weekend! - @PanAm_Fans

Interview With Former Pan Am Stewardess - Gigi Block

Hello Pan Am Fans - Hope you are all having a pleasant April. 

Whilst we all await news regarding a second season of Pan Am I am making sure I keep the twitter page (@PanAm_Fans) busy with the latest news & tweets, as well as keeping followers informed with were the show stands. I have also been uploading Pan Am Photo Montages which have been loved by many in order to keep the Pan Am Buzz Alive! 

The wide interest in what life is like in the skies that has taken over my twitter page lead me to find out what life really was like, from a stewardess - and who better to find this out from than a Pan Am Stewardess! - Everyone, please meet Gigi Block, a former Pan Am Stewardess. 

I sent Gigi a few questions regarding her time as a Pan Am Stewardess, and she was more than happy to give us an insight to what her life was like at 37,000ft. Here's what Gigi Said about her career with Pan Am:

"I was raised in South Africa and attended school near Johannesburg.  As a young adult I went to Germany with the intention of spending about a year there and working on my German language skills. While I was there I was hired by BEA (British European Airways) to work at the airport in Hamburg as a ground agent. I made many friends working at the airport and I mentioned to the Pan Am Station Manager that I would love to become a Pan Am stewardess. He gave me an application and even sent it to the HR department in Miami for me.

The interview for the job was held in Miami, I remember being a bit nervous but once I entered the room I was put at ease by the interviewers. They were very interested in the fact that I had some airline experience and that I spoke foreign languages. I was also asked to get up out of my chair to walk up and down so they could check out how I walked. It only took a couple of weeks to find out that they had hired me. 

Training (in Miami) for the job turned out to be a six week course during which we had service training, how to cook a roast beef and eggs to order, how to use the galley equipment etc. We also learned how to deal with emergencies. Pan Am’s grooming regulations were very strict, we all had to have short hair and anyone who arrived in training with long hair had to have it cut.

I was sent on my first flight to Rio as a trainee which was very exciting to say the least, thank goodness the crew was very helpful in showing me the ropes.

Pan Am sent me to New York once I had finished training and I have lived there ever since. I loved my job and I stayed with the company until it went out of business. I was hired by Delta after Pan Am’s bankruptcy to fly their European routes which they had bought from Pan Am.

During my career I met many celebrities such as Sophia Loren, Henry Kissinger and Charles Lindbergh to name a few."

The Pan Am lifestyle certainly sounds as amazing as it is on the series, and I would like to take this opportunity to thank Gigi Block very much for her time and for agreeing to take part to let Pan Am Fans know all around the world, what being an employee of Pan Am was really like. Follow Gigi Block on Twitter  @ggblock 

-Also I would like to thank everyone still continuing to Vote to #SavePanAm as part of E! Onlines "Save One Show". If you have not already voted, please visit eonli.ne/HZO2O8 and Click "Pan Am". 

Thank You for reading this blog post, and as always, feedback is very much appreciated. Tweet your comments to @PanAm_Fans  "Thank You For Flying Pan Am"! 

Gigi Block Is The First Person, Front Row On the Right.

Pan Am Luggage - Get The "Pan Am Look"

Hello Pan Am Fans, and Welcome to my Pan Am Blog! panamfans.blogspot.com

With Season 1 drawn to a close, we are still re-living those glorious Pan Am moments, so I have decided to dedicate my first blog post to Pan Am Luggage.

The various Pan Am bags are seen everywhere throughout the series, on the Cabin Crew, Check-in agents, onboard the Clipper Majestic and in the flight deck, and the best thing is, these bags are all available in 'real life' and all at a cheaper price than the official Pan Am store are selling them for! 

Get The Pan Am Look!...

Women's Pan Am Luggage

There are many Pan Am bags to choose from in the women's category, with many available through cheaper sites such as Amazon and eBay - Where most are brand new and sold from online stores that specialise in vintage luggage. 

Pan Am Orion

The Pan Am Orion - The Bag That Started It All...

The Orion was the bag that started it all, and the original bag of the jet-set era. The Pan Am Orion was presented to first class passengers in the sixties. Orion's were carried throughout the series by all of the female Pan Am flight attendants, especially Maggie and Colette. 

The Orion is the only bag that is exclusively sold on the Pan Am Store website and unavailable anywhere else, at the price of £57.00 British Pounds,  which is $89 
US Dollars. - It's not bad for a bag that size,
 however there are plenty  more available 
Pan Am bags at a similar size for a 
cheaper price,

 So don't let this worry you! 

Pan Am Explorer
This classy bag is one of the most well known Pan Am bag around! Seen throughout the series, and is favourite of Karine Vanasse and Margot Robbie! Weekend getaway to Europe? 
With easy grab n' go 15" handles and available in 3 color options, you really can take this bag anywhere. Embossed with Pan Am logo in white, it's a very good size bag at a reasonable price. After researching several websites I found the Explorer at it's cheapest price on Amazon for £40.00 British Pounds. The bag is also accompanied by a stylish Pan Am passport cover, well known in the aviation industry and perfect for travelling. Available here on Amazon: http://amzn.to/AjCsyd


Pan Am Mini Explorer
A mini version of the Explorer, it's a cute, classy and comfortable bag to carry. Featured in the series and carried by Kate in the Croatia episode, it's a famous bag to carry!
With my research I found it cheapest at approximately £35.00 including postage from the United States. New with tags: A brand-new, unused, unworn and undamaged item in the original packaging, and comes in Blue, White and Black. Here's the link: http://bit.ly/x7GOuw


 Mens Pan Am Bags
There are equally as many Pan Am bags for men, and which some of them are unisex. Most are available from Amazon for a much cheaper price than the Pan Am stores, and some I am able to give you personal feedback as I already own! 

The Pan Am Defiance  (Unisex)
The Defiance is featured in the background throughout the series, in the cabin crew closet at the front of the Clipper Majestic and occasionally in the cockpit when the crew are offering tea and coffee. It's very similar to the Orion in the way that it is exclusively sold from Pan Am Stores and from anywhere else you will probably end up paying more. It's light weight, bright, comes in two colours and is unisex. It retails at £50.00 British Pounds from the Pan Am online store here: http://bit.ly/t5Eivb




Pan Am Globe Bag
One of my favourite Pan Am bags, as I received this as a present from one of my good friends, this bag is very good value for money. Its much larger than it looks in the picture, its a dark blue which makes it more of a men's bag, and is delivered from the UK within 3-5 working days, unless you pay for a speedier delivery, (Although the standard 3-5 working days, 90% of the time is with you on the 3rd day after placing your order, if not sooner). A stylish quality bag, with a unique design and and Pan Am retro brand logo enlarged. It retails at £39.95 from Amazon.co.uk here: http://amzn.to/xnTAMw
                                                                                         Pan Am Messenger Satchel

A small, compact, classy and stylish Pan Am bag, perfect for shopping, outings or as a small carry-on bag, Made from 100% Vinyl and Easy to clean, durable and hard wearing, it's good value for money at the good price. It's available from eBay, and "Buy It Now" including postage is £13.98 British Pounds. New with tags and available in various colours. http://bit.ly/A5Onxg




I hope this post has helped you find the cheapest available Pan Am bags to get the "Pan Am Look"  and I would be really grateful for you to tweet me your feedback on this post to my twitter @PanAm_Fans. Thank you for reading, and Thank you for flying Pan Am!