Plans to revive the long-defunct Pan American World Airways are moving forward.
Aviation merchant bank and consulting firm AVi8 Air Capital announced Thursday that it has completed a comprehensive business plan for the potential relaunch of Pan Am, which went out of business in 1991. With that step completed, Avi8 and Pan American Global Holdings, which owns the rights to the Pan Am brand, have formally started the airline certification process with the FAA, which could reestablish Pan Am as a Part 121 scheduled carrier.
“Avi8 has assembled a world-class team to lead the certification effort and has received strong initial support from aircraft lessors and key vendors,” the company said in a statement.
Avi8 and Pan American Global Holdings have been working since June to evaluate Pan Am’s prospects for a comeback.
The partners said that, once certified, the new Pan Am plans to operate a fleet of Airbus aircraft. The company will be headquartered in Miami.
Avi8 and Pan American Global Holdings did not specify which type of Airbus aircraft the revived Pan Am will fly, or what routes it will aim to operate.
Pan Am was at one time the largest international airline based in the U.S. Its fortunes turned after the oil shock of the 1970s, which hurt travel demand. Deregulation of the American airline industry under President Jimmy Carter exposed the carrier to new levels of competition, and it struggled to build a domestic network. After years of losses, it finally filed for bankruptcy.
Still, the Pan Am name remains synonymous with refined luxury travel in a bygone time, a fact Pan American Global Holdings has said could lure travelers back to the brand if it does successfully return to the skies.
