Jul 11, 2026 · 25 min · 12 segments
Send us Fan Mail The Pan Am Podcast enters an exciting new chapter as we welcome **Ken Andersen** as the new host of the program. Since its launch…
Linda FrayerHost
One thing that strikes me, Ken, about your story is that your appreciation for Pan Am, it comes all from the research and discovery and admiration for what the company accomplished.

But taking the hat of someone who didn't work for Pan Am, what do you think today's generation can learn from the airline's legacy? Yeah.
Air travel today hardly even resembles what air travel was even back in the late 60s or early 1970s.
And, you know, that's what led to the ultra low cost carriers, which also led to just a different form of travel and looking at travel in a different way.
And I just don't think a younger generation that's traveling by air today has any clue what it was like.

They come into the museum and they look at this because what's all this China and silverware? They don't understand.
To me, it's very humbling to see what we used to have and how things have changed to what they are now.
Although watching the industry today, especially with the fall of Spirit Airlines, I kind of get the feeling that The pendulum may have swung as low as it's going to get as far as the airline industry is concerned, and things are starting to come back around.
The loss of Spirit Airlines, the complete reorganization of Southwest Airlines and their operational methods.
And when you look at the different levels of service that are being offered by the main carriers, the legacy carriers, I think things are starting to shift.
it'll never go back to what it was at least past the first maybe eight or ten rows um up there you up there you may still see some some sort of emirates is a good example their their service is impeccable cathay pacific airlines like that but for the big legacy airlines i think you're going to see a small amount of flyers that are up in first class up in front of the curtain that will see a level of service not the same level that they had on pan-american but you More resemblance of that.
And then the farther back you get in the plane, the more modern I would say the air travel.

Maybe hopefully that people are provided options, you know, that they can choose which level of service that they want.
But
Yeah.

One thing that strikes me, Ken, about your story is that your appreciation for Pan Am, it comes all from the research and discovery and admiration for what the company accomplished.

But taking the hat of someone who didn't work for Pan Am, what do you think today's generation can learn from the airline's legacy? Yeah.
Air travel today hardly even resembles what air travel was even back in the late 60s or early 1970s.
And, you know, that's what led to the ultra low cost carriers, which also led to just a different form of travel and looking at travel in a different way.
And I just don't think a younger generation that's traveling by air today has any clue what it was like.

They come into the museum and they look at this because what's all this China and silverware? They don't understand.
To me, it's very humbling to see what we used to have and how things have changed to what they are now.
Although watching the industry today, especially with the fall of Spirit Airlines, I kind of get the feeling that The pendulum may have swung as low as it's going to get as far as the airline industry is concerned, and things are starting to come back around.
The loss of Spirit Airlines, the complete reorganization of Southwest Airlines and their operational methods.
And when you look at the different levels of service that are being offered by the main carriers, the legacy carriers, I think things are starting to shift.
it'll never go back to what it was at least past the first maybe eight or ten rows um up there you up there you may still see some some sort of emirates is a good example their their service is impeccable cathay pacific airlines like that but for the big legacy airlines i think you're going to see a small amount of flyers that are up in first class up in front of the curtain that will see a level of service not the same level that they had on pan-american but you More resemblance of that.
And then the farther back you get in the plane, the more modern I would say the air travel.

Maybe hopefully that people are provided options, you know, that they can choose which level of service that they want.
But
Yeah.
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