Episode 54: A Trip to Japan and Making Connections in the Air

The Pan Am Podcast

The Pan Am Podcast
Episode 54: A Trip to Japan and Making Connections in the Air
May 28, 2025 Season 4 Episode 54
Pan Am Museum Foundation

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In this episode, Host Tom Betti shares insights on his recent trip to Japan where he met Charlie, a purser with United Airlines, on his inbound flight to Tokyo and on his outbound flight from Osaka met United flight attendants Leslie and Lynn who both worked for Pan Am from 1977 to 1986 until the Pacific Division was sold to United.

Tom also shares some personal travel stories and gives many updates about this program and the Pan Am Museum! 

The Pan Am Podcast was recently awarded the 2025 Platinum Muse Creative Award and the 2025 Platinum Vega Digital Award. To learn more, read Tom's interview with Muse staff about this incredible achievement: 

Tom Betti on Telling the Untold Stories of Pan Am

On April 24, 2025, the Pan Am Museum, in partnership with the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Foundation, and the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library & Museum, hosted an event in Garden City, NY celebrating the 50th Anniversary of Operation Babylift, the frantic evacuation, ordered by President Ford, of Vietnamese war orphans in the final days of Saigon in 1975. In addition, on May 9, 2025 the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum hosted an event in Grand Rapids, MI to celebrate the anniversary. 

To mark the occasion, the three organizations produced a short documentary film by Dirk Braun that premiered at both events. You can view this film on our YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f9pNjUZwXb4

There’s also an officially branded Pan Am coffee available from Expedition Roasters Coffee Company that was recently released. There are two kinds available: Organic Guatemalan Single Origin which is more of a medium roast and Sumatra Single-Origin from Indonesia which is more of a dark roast. 

Here is the link to purchase Pan Am coffee:
https://expeditionroasters.com/collections/pan-am


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A very special thanks to Mr. Adam Aron, Chairman and CEO of AMC and president of the Pan Am Historical Foundation and Pan Am Brands for their continued and unwavering support!

Episode Artwork Episode 54: A Trip to Japan and Making Connections in the Air 1:16:39 Episode Artwork Episode 53: Pan Am Returns to the Skies with Gary Bartelings 1:07:21 Episode Artwork Episode 52: George Takei Remembers Gene Roddenberry (Pan Am Pilot, 1945-1948) 1:19:11 Episode Artwork Episode 51: Crossing the Atlantic in 1939 and Making History Once More 1:49:40 Episode Artwork Episode 50: Kathleen Clair, Juan T. Trippe's Executive Assistant for 32 Years (1948-1980) 1:16:40 Episode Artwork Episode 49: Edith Head, A Hollywood Legend 1:21:37 Episode Artwork Episode 48: The Archer's...A Family of Aviators 1:13:02 Episode Artwork Episode 47: The "Nisei" Stewardesses of Pan Am 57:11 Episode Artwork Episode 46: Capt. Mike Bannister, Chief Pilot of British Airways Concorde 57:57 Episode Artwork Episode 45: National Airlines 1:39:05 Episode Artwork Episode 44: Capt. Robert Ford and the Long Way Home 1:15:27 Episode Artwork Episode 43: Terror at the Rome Airport, December 1973 Attack 1:37:39 Episode Artwork Episode 42: Operation Babylift: The 1975 Saigon Evacuation 1:20:54 Episode Artwork Episode 41: The Stewardess Labor Movement of the 1960s and 1970s 1:02:01 Episode Artwork Episode 40: Tom Betti and a Rock Song About History 1:09:55 Episode Artwork Episode 39: Madeline Smith and a Romance in the Sky 1:08:40 Episode Artwork Episode 38: Dan Colussy, Pan Am's President and Chief Operating Officer in the 1970s 1:26:13 Episode Artwork Episode 37: Lester Kappel, World War II Aircraft Mechanic with Pan Am 1:04:21 Episode Artwork Episode 36: Sam Donaldson, Legendary Newsman 1:37:12 Episode Artwork Episode 35: Pan Am's Diversity in the Cockpit 1:40:37 Episode Artwork Episode 34: Junius Kellogg and the Pan Am Jets Wheelchair Basketball Team 1:14:57 Episode Artwork Episode 33: Dr. Johanna O’Flaherty, Helping Others With Weighted Wings 1:02:01 Episode Artwork Episode 32: Terror on the Airline, New Lockerbie Arrest, and the Quest for Justice 1:22:28 Episode Artwork Episode 31: The Last CEO and the Last Clipper 1:39:49 Episode Artwork Episode 30: The Art of Travel Posters 59:08