PAN AM BLUE

BACKGROUND

In 1986, Pan American World Airways started work on ‘Pan Am Blue’, a corporate-identity programme designed to build on the mega-brand status of the airline. The initial task was to create an aircraft-interior environment that would directly complement — and live up to — the dramatic aircraft-exterior livery that had been introduced earlier in the decade. As a launch customer for the Airbus A310-300 aircraft type, Pan Am had implemented an amazing new paint scheme: along the sides of the fuselage, in a powerful shade of radiant turquoise blue, the five-letter name of the airline was displayed in super-graphic, billboard-style, oversize letters against a bright white background.

This new treatment constituted a first in the airline business: the jumbo letters stretching almost to the top of the aircraft made the identity of the airline unmistakable and clearly visible from a great distance. Effectively, every single takeoff and landing suddenly became a flying billboard advertisement for Pan Am, and, naturally, there were heated arguments between aviation design-expert purist and eclectic factions. But there was no turning back! The new livery was progressively applied to the other aircraft types across the Pan Am fleet — not difficult on the huge Boeing B747s for which Pan Am was famous as the first scheduled operator in 1970. (Juan T. Trippe, the formidable founder of the airline, had issued the original specifications and ordered the aircraft from Boeing in 1966.) However, specially graded stencil ‘pounces’ had to be individually cut to compress the information details for the sides of the fuselage of small-scale aircraft such as the de Havilland Dash 7 and the ATR42 (for which Pan Am was also a launch customer). To the relief of traditionalists, the airline decided not to change the design treatment on the tail fins of the aircraft and continued to proudly display the Pan Am Globe, commonly referred to by Pan Am family members as the ‘Blue Ball’.

The ‘super-graphics’ pioneered by Pan Am sparked a new trend: airlines everywhere started to focus on the ‘bigger is better’ design philosophy by increasing the size of logo markings on their aircraft exteriors to provide clear corporate-identity statements and ensure instant recognition. In the competitive post-deregulation era, it is now rare to see old-style small-size letters on the fuselage of aircraft that fly for scheduled airlines.

The Pan Am Blue programme was headed by New York–based designers Philip and Gail George, whose acclaimed accomplishments extended across the hospitality sector, including restaurants, hotels, furnishings and other airlines (information about Philip George's aviation work can be found in the Comments from the Specialists section of Chapter 4/Aero Identity, in the Forever Leather section of Chapter 12/The Leather Forecast, and in the Comments from the Specialists section of Chapter 14/Flying Colours). The big challenge in 1986 was how to make the Pan Am aircraft interiors relate directly to the company’s much-debated new livery scheme. After detailed consultations with all stakeholder departments, the decision was made to move ahead with three simultaneous upgrades: First Class, Business (Clipper) Class and Economy Class would each have a distinctive cabin upholstery treatment.

This was a different approach from the design strategy implemented by British Airways during the ‘privatization’ branding headed by Landor Associates and launched with great success in 1984 (details are provided in Chapter 4/Aero Identity in the sections titled: The CBP and the aircraft interior and Running a CBP and in the Concorde Unique Case Study). To achieve speed of completion and economy-of-scale cost savings for the aircraft-interior track, British Airways installed only ONE seat-cover fabric in all classes of service, on all aircraft, across the entire fleet (the ubiquitous upholstery is shown in the Reconciling Class Differentials section of Chapter 3/Economy-Class Value; note the navy-blue background with closely spaced computer-style red pin dots) — with the exception of Concorde.

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Pan Am Worldport at JFK Airport

Pan Am. Boeing B747

In June 1987, the three eagerly awaited Pan Am Blue cabin schemes first appeared in combination with the ‘mega-brand’ exterior paint scheme at the time of the rollout and delivery from the manufacturer of the airline’s first Airbus A310-300 aircraft (Pan Am being the launch customer). The standard configuration was as follows:

At the same time, in the airline’s hangars, cabin retrofit lines were already in progress upgrading the other aircraft types across the fleet, with a fast-track throughput because the airline was preparing to celebrate its 60th anniversary in 1988.

Pan Am. Airbus A310-300

The original shade of bright blue used by Pan Am for major paint applications was a specially mixed formula. Over the years, however, because of the airline’s far-flung international network, it was inevitable that some variants of the shade (derived from other sources) had crept into use for local design applications. In 1986, as a cost-saving measure, and to achieve consistency, the decision was made to move to the closest possible colour available via the commercial PANTONE Matching System® (PMS). In this way, supplies for paint touch-ups on visual-display items could easily be purchased by any department of the airline at professional paint stores worldwide.

PMS Process Blue was selected as the closest option to serve in place of the airline’s traditional formula, and the other selected PMS colours were:

■ PMS 295 - midnight navy-blue;
■ PMS 185 - red;
■ PMS 877 - silver gray;
■ PMS 421 - light gray; and
■ white and black.

As with the similarly ‘patriotic’ livery schemes of Air France and British Airways, the linking together of the shades of dark blue and bright red with white evoked a visual reference to the country’s national flag.

FIRST CLASS

By the standards of the day, the Pan Am Blue First Class cabin decor scheme was designed to convey the richness of luxury travel. As pioneered on the airline’s twin-aisle aircraft, the then-state-of-the-art ‘Sleeperette’ seats featured extendable footrests (a close-up picture is shown near the beginning of Chapter 1/First-Class Luxury). The term ‘Sleeperette Service’ had been used back in the 1950s when the airline flew Stratocruiser aircraft with onboard sleeping accommodation.

The handsome new first-class seat covers featured a combination of Lackawanna genuine leather hides dyed midnight navy-blue, with matching one-piece Australian Merino sheepskins covering the centre-insert panels. In previous years, Philip George had installed leather seat covers at Braniff (as described in the Braniff Style Case Study attached to Chapter 14/Flying Colours), and he wanted to upgrade the overall comfort quotient at Pan Am by adding layers of sheepskin, reminiscent of the early days of open-cockpit flying. There had been a prototype experiment using strands of sheepskin that could be brushed clean, but the seat backs and seat bottoms had unfortunately moulted and gone bald rather rapidly, so the first trial was jettisoned in favour of the more resilient product. At the down-line cleaning stations, the airline had to issue new vacuum cleaners with extra-strong suction nozzles to extract crumbs, bits of peanuts and other trapped debris from the thick pelts.

‘Do you think these sheep were raised on Foster’s Lager and kangaroo stew?’ grumbled the engineering manager as he struggled to fit the densely constructed upholstery into the shelving units traditionally assigned to seat-cover spares.

It was all worth the effort, though, because Pan Am passengers really loved the plush, cozily insulated first-class seating accommodation.

On the Boeing B747 aircraft, the credenza, or console, in the middle of the First Class cabin received special treatment to provide a ‘wow-factor’ impact when passengers entered the area. The gleaming silver-finish side panels and top surfaces were surrounded by thickly padded cocktail-bar-style bumper rails covered in midnight navy-blue leather, a design feature subsequently emulated by British Airways during the refurbishment of the tray-tables of the Concorde fleet (as shown in the picture near the end of the Concorde Unique Case Study attached to Chapter 4/Aero Identity).

Following the success of the installation of seat-back telephones on the domestic Pan Am Shuttle fleet, and conscious of the international revenue-generating potential, the airline moved ahead with the supplemental-type certification process to offer onboard telephone service on its Boeing B747 aircraft. This was an industry ‘first’ and took the form of a curtained kiosk-type installation located near the front of the upper deck of the aircraft.

The elegance of the new cabin decor was enhanced by the introduction of upgraded menu choices, including a luxurious caviar and iced vodka service (as shown in the Menu Cards Picture Gallery attached to Chapter 6/Dining à la Jet Set). Pan Am also developed an ingenious wraparound leather amenity kit containing a zip-up compartment and separate pouches for fragrances, toiletries and cosmetic products. The remnants from the cutting process of the midnight navy-blue hides already purchased by the airline provided the supply of small pieces for the fabrication of these accessory items.

This fashionable and practical design was copied in a glossy black finish by Northwest and subsequently imitated by other airlines, including Air Canada and British Airways (as shown in the Amenity Kit Picture Gallery attached to Chapter 7/Real-Feel Customer Touchpoints).

Pan Am launched the first dedicated and branded Business Class cabin in the history of aviation. On the airline’s Boeing B747 fleet, the generous and comfortable seats of the First Class cabins were ripped out and reused in the Business (Clipper) Class cabins. The layout was 2+2+2 — a pioneering product advancement at that time because it was similar to the configuration of the First Class cabin (as shown in the Pan Am picture near the end of Chapter 2/Business-Class Comfort).

The new Pan Am Blue dress seat covers were fabricated using herringbone-weave tweed fabric purchased from AaBe. The stitched-in headrest covers and seat-back literature pockets were made of leather, again using the remnants of hides left over from the cutting process of the first-class seat covers.

At a communications seminar for Pan Am People, Philip George explained that he had derived inspiration from the sight of surface-stitched leather elbow patches, buttons and pocket trims on the traditional tweed jackets worn by members of the English gentry during their hunting, shooting and fishing weekends at their country estates. There had been an earlier experiment with a similar upholstery scheme using a combination of shades of tan, but after assessing the maintenance implications, the airline decided to concentrate purely on the scheme that used shades of blue. This was subsequently specified for all the twin-aisle aircraft in the fleet and the premium cabins of the airline’s single-aisle aircraft.

Traditionally, the decor schemes in the Economy Class Cabin had been designed to provide a family-style environment for pleasure and leisure flyers: combinations of heavy-duty upholstery and holiday-brochure colours were the norm (as shown in the passenger-populated Pan Am picture near the beginning of Chapter 3/Economy-Class Value). But the airline was well aware of an emerging trend. By the late 1980s, more and more budget-conscious corporate travellers were flying in Economy Class, so the designers decided to create an atmosphere of calm, businesslike efficiency. The new soft-furnishing treatment featured silky-smooth pure wool seat covers, woven to incorporate an abstract version of the Pan Am Globe. Initial trials with fabrics from Testori in two shades of blue were assessed for maintenance implications, and eventually the deeper shade was selected for fleet-wide implementation. This high-quality fabric replaced more than one dozen predecessor fabrics — the colours ranged from scarlet to cherry and cerise — that had been in service in Economy Class for many years.

To achieve a level of consistency, a number of common elements were developed for use in all three classes of service, including:

■ carpet – known as ‘Clipper Sail’;
■ drapery – heavy-weight blue multi-stripe wool fabric;
■ sidewall panels – silver-blue, grey pearl Tedlar coverings;
■ aisle corridor walls and monuments – grey horizontal stripe Tedlar coverings;
■ blue bin strips;
■ black seat belts and silver-style-finish seat-belt buckles displaying the Pan Am Globe;
■ black seat-track covers;
■ onboard signage using Helvetica script;
■ galley treatments – silver-style finish; and
■ lavatory treatments – silver-style finish with highly polished stainless-steel wash basins.

BULKHEAD COVERS

A fleet-wide audit of the twin-aisle aircraft showed that, prior to the implementation of the Pan Am Blue programme, the airline had been flying 40 different decorative bulkhead treatments. Imagine the upkeep ramifications! The decision was made to move to just one key design element, which became known as the Polar Projection. As explained by the designers, this piece of creative artwork showed the outline of the Pan Am Globe superimposed over the landmass of the continents of the world, as might possibly be viewed from above the North Pole — with, it needs to be stated, some considerable geographical latitude and artistic licence.

The designers also pointed out some reassuring visual links between the futuristic Polar Projection and a key antecedent identity emblem that Pan Am had displayed on the fuselage of its aircraft from the earliest days of operations. For example, during the 1930s, on the celebrated seaplane ‘Clippers’, underneath the heritage PAA ‘flying wing’, there was a depiction of the planetary globe combined with outlines of continental-landmass areas.

As a major element of the Pan Am Blue scheme, the Polar Projection was displayed inside the aircraft cabins on the rear-facing front bulkheads in blended shades of matte silver grey. The design was set into a raised silver frame, in the style of a painting hanging in an art gallery or museum, and passengers described the unique creation as ‘mesmerizing’. Decorative menu covers provided a take-away souvenir for Pan Am passengers in all classes of service.

Menu Cover for First Class

The menu for First Class, the size of a sheet of writing paper, displayed the Polar Projection on the cover, in beautiful shades of silver and midnight navy-blue, as shown above. The menu for Business (Clipper) Class, half the size of the menu for First Class, displayed the Polar Projection in blended matte tones of silver-grey surrounded by a red border. The menu for Economy Class displayed the Polar Projection in bright Pan Am blue against a shiny white background; inside the multi-page notebook format, the meal choices were displayed in several languages. And this was the money-earner, specially designed to cover the costs of the airline’s entire menu print and production order! How? By carrying a wide range of destination- and travel-related paid-for advertising (as shown in the Menu Cards Picture Gallery attached to Chapter 6/Dining à la Jet Set). The Menu Cover for Economy Class is shown later in this Case Study.

The presentation concept of the Polar Projection was immediately seized on for use on company documentation, TV footage, principal sightline points at corporate premises and the back walls of airport check-in desks.

Menu Cover for Business (Clipper) Class

While old-style existing stocks were being depleted, the airline moved ahead with the design and development of a new range of accessory items, all specified to link directly with the new Pan Am Blue aircraft-interior decor schemes. The action-plan list included:

Passenger Comfort Items

Numbers shown in brackets relate to the pictures displayed left and below.

■ mandatory safety-information folders;
■ airsick bags;
■ inflight duty-free price list [02];
■ writing portfolio including stationery, envelopes, mailgrams;
■ playing cards;
■ protective plastic covers for magazines [03];
■ Panorama children’s magazines;
■ newspaper labels;
■ coat tags;
■ baby bassinets;
■ cockpit waste bags;
■ blankets for First Class and Business (Clipper) Class;
■ giveaway IFE headsets for First Class and Business (Clipper) Class [01];
■ amenity kits for First Class and Business (Clipper) Class [04];
■ eye shades and their container package;
■ slipper-socks and their container package [05];
■ blankets for Economy Class;
■ inflight sampling box for Economy Class [06];
■ headset-collection bag for Economy Class; and
■ non-giveaway IFE headsets for Economy Class (as shown in the picture featuring passengers in the Reconciling Class Differentials section of Chapter 3/Economy-Class Value).

Lavatory Items

■ toothbrushes;
■ combs;
■ sip ‘n’ rinse disposable cups;
■ bottles; and
■ soap ‘cakes’.

Food-and-Beverage Equipment

■ Menu Cover for Economy Class [08];
■ meal-service china for First Class and Business (Clipper) Class;
■ meal-tray set-up for Economy Class [07];
■ cocktail napkins;
■ stir sticks;
■ Styrofoam cups;
■ plastic beverage glasses;
■ tray mats;
■ meal-service napkins;
■ linen bags;
■ condiments and condiment holders;
■ clear cutlery bags;
■ snack boxes;
■ small food items: butter wrapper, butter container, sugar packet, creamer, almond packet, peanut packet;
■ ‘light fare’ container and lid;
■ ‘light fare’ bag;
■ ‘Country Lime’ pitcher; and
■ matchbooks – onboard smoking was permitted in the 1980s!

Corporate Branding Development

In parallel with the cabin upgrades, the Pan Am Blue programme was extended to cover passenger documentation, ticket offices, airport check-in desks and lounges, corporate premises, ground vehicles, and new uniform trials (led by the noted French Haute Couture fashion designer Christian Lacroix, whose evocative artwork for the special souvenir series of collectible Air France Concorde menus is displayed in the Concorde Unique Case Study and the Air France Concorde Picture Gallery attached to Chapter 4/Aero Identity and the Menu Cards Picture Gallery attached to Chapter 6/Dining à la Jet Set).

■ airport backwall display [09];
■ uniforms [10];
■ timetables [11];
■ passenger documentation [12];
■ ticket offices [13];
■ check-in desks [14];
■ lounges [15a + 15b];
■ corporate premises [16]; and
■ ground vehicles [17].

In December 1991, as a result of the consequences of deregulation, the airline ceased operations — a sad event that resonated across the entire industry. However, Pan American World Airways is still today classed as one of the most recognized corporate identities in the world, along with iconic brands such as Coca-Cola, IBM, McDonald’s and Sony. Merchandising lines are available at airports and from sales catalogues offering memorabilia items, including vintage Pan Am cabin bags, travel accessories, network-destination posters and model aircraft. Detailed source information about the pioneering triumphs of the airline may be obtained from The Pan Am Historical Foundation (www.panam.org) and The Pan Am Museum Foundation (www.thepanammuseum.org).

Thanks to the sustained loyalty of the airline’s former customers and professional business associates, plus the deep and constant devotion displayed by groups of alumni employees, the inspiring legacy of Pan Am continues to live on as one of the great legends in the history of aviation.