Pan Am Express was a brand name for a code sharing passenger feed service operated by other airlines on behalf of Pan American World Airways (Pan Am). It was founded in the early 1980s, and lasted until the demise of Pan Am in 1991.[1]

Pan Am Express
IATA ICAO Callsign
PL PNO PAN EXPRESS
Commenced operations1981 (1981)
Ceased operationsDecember 4, 1991 (1991-12-04)
Hubs
Focus cities
Fleet sizeSee Fleet below
DestinationsSee Route network below
Parent companyPan American World Airways

History edit

In 1980, Pan American World Airways acquired National Airlines, thus obtaining a domestic route network in the U.S. for the first time in its history. In order to provide connecting passenger service to smaller destinations, the creation of a feeder network soon became necessary.

 
An Air Atlanta Boeing 727 at LaGuardia Airport (1985).
 
An Empire Airlines Fokker F28 Fellowship at LaGuardia Airport (1986).

For this task, a number of airlines flying narrow body jet equipment and/or turboprop aircraft were contracted via code sharing agreements:

The focus of the Pan Am Express network was put on feeding into Pan Am's hub at John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK). The northeastern U.S. was particularly well covered, but there were also feeder service flights operated in Arizona, California, Florida and Texas as well as the midwestern and southern U.S.

In 1987, Pan Am acquired Ransome Airlines, which was subsequently renamed Pan Am Express and began operating under the banner and aircraft livery of Pan Am.[3][4] It fully concentrated on serving the JFK hub and also operated a second feeder network in Europe, offering regional flights out of Berlin Tegel Airport.[5] Pan Am Express also operated flights between Los Angeles (LAX) and San Diego (SAN) which were not linked to any other smaller destinations in the regional network. When Pan Am declared bankruptcy in early 1991 and was forced to sell its New York hub to Delta Air Lines, Pan Am Express continued to operate the northeast regional system and the Miami system for Pan Am until the brand was shut down together with its parent on December 4, 1991. On that date, Ransome / Pan Am Express was sold to TransWorld Airlines and began operating the same system for TWA from 5 Dec 1991 until Nov 1995 when TWA shut down this operation. See: Ransome Airlines entry for more detail

Route network edit

Between 1983 and 1991, the Pan Am Express branding was used on flights to the following destinations in the United States, Canada and the Bahamas:[6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15]

Location US State/
Country
Airport Start End operated by
Little Rock Arkansas Clinton National Airport
1986
1990
Republic Airlines
Pan Am Express
Phoenix Arizona Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport
1985
1986
Republic Airlines
Los Angeles California Los Angeles International Airport
1989
1990
Pan Am Express
San Diego California San Diego International Airport
1985
1989
1986
1990
Republic Airlines
Pan Am Express
Hartford County Connecticut Bradley International Airport
1984
1987
1985
1991
Empire Airlines
Pan Am Express
Daytona Beach Florida Daytona Beach International Airport
1990
1991
Pan Am Express
Fort Myers Florida Southwest Florida Regional Airport
1990
1991
Pan Am Express
Key West Florida Key West International Airport
1990
1991
Pan Am Express
Melbourne Florida Melbourne Orlando International Airport
1990
1991
Pan Am Express
Miami Florida Miami International Airport (hub)
1984
1990
1986
1991
Air Atlanta
Pan Am Express
Naples Florida Naples Municipal Airport
1990
1991
Pan Am Express
Sarasota Florida Sarasota–Bradenton International Airport
1990
1991
Pan Am Express
West Palm Beach Florida Palm Beach International Airport
1990
1991
Pan Am Express
Atlanta Georgia Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport
1984
1986
Air Atlanta, Republic Airlines
Chicago Illinois O'Hare International Airport
1985
1986
Republic Airlines
Fort Wayne Indiana Fort Wayne International Airport
1986
1986
Republic Airlines
Indianapolis Indiana Indianapolis International Airport
1985
1986
Republic Airlines
South Bend Indiana South Bend Regional Airport
1986
1986
Republic Airlines
Baltimore Maryland Baltimore–Washington International Airport
1987
1991
Pan Am Express
Boston Massachusetts Logan International Airport
1988
1990
Pan Am Express
Detroit Michigan Detroit Metropolitan Airport (focus city)
1985
1986
Republic Airlines
Grand Rapids Michigan Kent County International Airport
1985
1986
Republic Airlines
Kalamazoo Michigan Kalamazoo County Airport
1985
1986
Republic Airlines
Minneapolis Minnesota Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport
1985
1986
Republic Airlines
Kansas City Missouri Kansas City International Airport
1985
1986
Republic Airlines
St. Louis Missouri St. Louis Lambert International Airport
1985
1986
Republic Airlines
Albany New York Albany International Airport
1985
1990
Emerald Airlines, Pan Am Express
Binghamton New York Edwin A. Link Field-Broome County Airport
1985
1996
Emerald Airlines
Buffalo New York Buffalo Niagara International Airport
1983
1991
Emerald Airlines, Empire Airlines, Pan Am Express
Elmira New York Elmira Corning Regional Airport
1985
1996
Emerald Airlines
Ithaca New York Ithaca Tompkins Regional Airport
1983
1986
Emerald Airlines, Empire Airlines
New York City New York John F. Kennedy International Airport (hub)
LaGuardia Airport
1983
1991
Air Atlanta, Emerald Airlines, Empire Airlines, Pan Am Express, Republic Airlines
Rochester New York Greater Rochester International Airport
1983
1991
Emerald Airlines, Empire Airlines, Pan Am Express
Syracuse New York Syracuse Hancock International Airport
1983
1991
Emerald Airlines, Empire Airlines, Pan Am Express
Utica New York Oneida County Airport
1983
1986
Emerald Airlines, Empire Airlines
Akron Ohio Akron-Canton Airport
1985
1986
Republic Airlines
Cincinnati Ohio Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport
1985
1986
Republic Airlines
Columbus Ohio Port Columbus International Airport
1985
1986
Republic Airlines
Dayton Ohio Dayton International Airport
1986
1986
Republic Airlines
Erie Pennsylvania Erie International Airport
1985
1986
Republic Airlines
Philadelphia Pennsylvania Philadelphia International Airport
1987
1991
Republic Airlines, Pan Am Express
Pittsburgh Pennsylvania Pittsburgh International Airport
1990
1991
Pan Am Express
Providence Rhode Island T.F. Green Airport
1984
1987
1984
1991
Empire Airlines
Pan Am Express
Memphis Tennessee Memphis International Airport
1984
1986
Air Atlanta, Republic Airlines
Nashville Tennessee Nashville International Airport
1985
1986
Republic Airlines
Austin Texas Robert Mueller Municipal Airport
1983
1983
Emerald Airlines
Dallas Texas Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport
1985
1986
Republic Airlines
Houston Texas George Bush Intercontinental Airport
1982
1985
1983
1986
Emerald Airlines
Republic Airlines
McAllen Texas McAllen-Miller International Airport
1982
1983
Emerald Airlines
San Antonio Texas San Antonio International Airport
1982
1983
Emerald Airlines
Burlington Vermont Burlington International Airport
1985
1986
Emerald Airlines
Norfolk Virginia Norfolk International Airport
1987
1991
Presidential Airways, Pan Am Express
Seattle Washington Seattle–Tacoma International Airport
1985
1986
Republic Airlines
Greenbrier County West Virginia Greenbrier Valley Airport
1981
1991
Atlanta Airlines, Pan Am Express
Appleton Wisconsin Outagamie County Regional Airport
1985
1986
Republic Airlines
Green Bay Wisconsin Austin Straubel International Airport
1985
1986
Republic Airlines
Madison Wisconsin Madison Municipal Airport
1985
1986
Republic Airlines
Milwaukee Wisconsin General Mitchell International Airport
1985
1986
Republic Airlines
Washington, D.C. Washington Dulles International Airport
1987
1987
Presidential Airways
Freeport Bahamas Grand Bahama International Airport
1990
1991
Pan Am Express
Governor's Harbour Bahamas Governor's Harbour Airport
1991
1991
Pan Am Express
Marsh Harbour Bahamas Marsh Harbour Airport
1991
1991
Pan Am Express
Nassau Bahamas Lynden Pindling International Airport
1991
1991
Pan Am Express
North Eleuthera Bahamas North Eleuthera Airport
1991
1991
Pan Am Express
Rock Sound Bahamas Rock Sound International Airport
1991
1991
Pan Am Express
Treasure Cay Bahamas Treasure Cay Airport
1991
1991
Pan Am Express
Hamilton Ontario, Canada John C. Munro Hamilton International Airport
1988
1988
Pan Am Express

In Europe, the following destinations were served:

 
Boarding of a Pan Am Express ATR 42 at Sylt Airport (1991).
Location Country Airport Start End
Innsbruck Austria Innsbruck Airport
1988
1988
Salzburg Austria Salzburg Airport
1988
1988
Vienna Austria Vienna International Airport
1988
1988
Copenhagen Denmark Copenhagen Airport
1990
1991
Strasbourg France Strasbourg International Airport
1988
1989
(West) Berlin (West) Germany Berlin Tegel Airport (hub)
1988
1991
Bremen (West) Germany Bremen Airport
1989
1990
Dortmund (West) Germany Dortmund Airport
1988
1988
Düsseldorf (West) Germany Düsseldorf Airport
1988
1988
Hamburg (West) Germany Hamburg Airport
1991
1991
Hanover (West) Germany Langenhagen Airport
1988
1991
Kiel (West) Germany Kiel Airport
1988
1990
Westerland (West) Germany Sylt Airport
1989
1991
Oslo Norway Fornebu Airport
1990
1991
Stockholm Sweden Stockholm Arlanda Airport
1989
1989
Basel Switzerland EuroAirport Basel-Mulhouse-Freiburg
1988
1989

Fleet edit

 
A Pan Am Express de Havilland Canada Dash 7 on arrival at Logan International Airport, completing a flight from John F. Kennedy International Airport (1987).

The following aircraft types were used on Pan Am Express flights:

Aircraft Airline
ATR 42 - turboprop Pan Am Express
BAe 146-100 - whisper jet Pan Am Express
Boeing 727 - jet Air Atlanta, Republic Airlines
Convair CV-580 - turboprop Republic Airlines
de Havilland Canada DHC-7 Dash 7 - turboprop Pan Am Express
Fairchild Hiller FH-227 - turboprop Emerald Airlines
Fokker F28 Fellowship - jet Empire Airlines
McDonnell Douglas DC-9 - jet Emerald Airlines, Republic Airlines
Jetstream 31 - turboprop Pan Am Express

See also edit

References edit