Aero Icarus / Wikimedia Commons
A US-based travel agency is planning to revive the Pan American (Pan Am) brand for a short nostalgic transatlantic excursion in 2025 using a chartered Boeing 757. The company aims to provide an exclusive experience, recreating the defunct US airline’s classic routes but on an upmarket basis, using the narrow-bodied aircraft fitted with just 50 business class seats.
Pan Am was seen as the pinnacle of international air travel during the inter-war and post-war years, with their famous ‘Clipper’ flying boats becoming synonymous with offering a high-class of intercontinental air travel. The airline later became the pioneer of the jet age, introducing the Boeing 707 in the 1960s and the Boeing 747 ‘jumbo jet’ in the 1970s.
Pan Am later succumbed to increased competition on many of its routes. It was declared bankrupt in 1991, with two subsequent attempts at reviving the airline also ending in failure.
Having paid to use the Pan Am brand and logo under license, Centurion Travel has put a multi-city excursion on sale that spans cities on both sides of the Atlantic, running from June 27 until July 9, 2025. Tickets for the two-week odyssey cost $65,500 for a single person traveling on their own. This includes accommodation, travel, and most meals, according to Centurion’s website.
The trip will start in New York and initially head to Foynes on the west coast of Ireland, a regular stopping point for Pan Am Clipper flying boats once they had crossed the Atlantic back in the day. The trip then takes a short hop to London, a city that always featured heavily in Pan Am’s schedules throughout its lifespan. Indeed, it was London that first received a Pan Am Boeing 747, entering service with the carrier in 1970.
After London, the luxuriously appointed 757 will head to Marseille in France, and then Lisbon in Portugal, before heading back across the Atlantic to Bermuda – another regular stopping point for Pan Am Clippers. The aircraft finally returns to New York on July 9, 2025, bringing the Pan Am revival experience to a close.
The venture is being led by Craig Carter, the current CEO of Pan American World Airways LLC, a US-based company that owns the rights to the original Pan Am logo and brand.
“As we are becoming more accustomed to travel being a commodity, usually a way to get from point A to point B at the most economical price, we offer a reminder of the Golden Age of travel,” Centurion’s website states. “A time when the travel itself was a glamorous experience, and when the journey was as important and special as the destination.”
There has been no official announcement from Centurion Travel regarding the source of the Boeing 757-200 that is to be used for the operation. Equally, no further announcement has been made as to whether the aircraft will wear any version of the Pan Am livery for the duration of the trip. It is also a striking choice of aircraft type for the mission, as Pan Am never actually operated the type during any of the three iterations of the airline.
While US charter airline New Pacific Airlines, with its fleet of three 757-200s, has been rumored to be the carrier selected to operate the trip, no confirmation has yet been made by either Centurion or the airline itself.
