Metropolitan Airport NewsMetropolitan Airport News

    Subscribe for Updates

    Get the latest local airport and aviation news delivered right into your inbox each week!

    News Updates

    The First American Woman in Space: Unveiling of Sculpture Honors Dr. Sally Ride

    June 18, 2022

    Our Lady of the Skies 2022 Annual Luncheon

    June 17, 2022

    Life-sized Lego Commercial Pilot Unveiled at JFK Terminal 4 Lego Store

    June 16, 2022
    Facebook Twitter Instagram
    Metropolitan Airport NewsMetropolitan Airport News
    • Latest News
      • Publisher’s Message
      • On Duty
      • Fast Five
      • Airport News
      • Air Cargo
      • Airline News
      • Aviation News
      • Airport Safety & Security
      • Airport Community
      • Airport Employment News
      • Airport Company Spotlight
      • Ground Services
      • Intermodal
      • New York Aviation History
      • Non-Rev Traveler
    • Airport & Aviation Events
    • Airport Employment
    • Latest Issue
    • Contact Us
    Metropolitan Airport NewsMetropolitan Airport News
    Home»New York Aviation History»Pan American’s Dixie Clipper Makes First Regular Trans-Atlantic Passenger Service to Europe
    New York Aviation History

    Pan American’s Dixie Clipper Makes First Regular Trans-Atlantic Passenger Service to Europe

    Metropolitan Airport NewsBy Metropolitan Airport NewsJune 26, 20201 Comment3 Mins Read
    Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email
    June 28th marks the 81st anniversary of the first regular trans-Atlantic passenger service via Pan Am’s Boeing 314 ‘Dixie Clipper’.

    June 28th marks the 81st anniversary of the first regular trans-Atlantic passenger service via Pan Am’s Boeing 314 ‘Dixie Clipper’. The aircraft  left Port Washington, New York with 22 passengers on the southern route to Horta, Lisbon, and Marseilles. 

    In 1939, the cost of the trip was US$375 for a one-way ticket or US$675 for a round trip. Southern Railway executive William J. Eck received a silver cigarette case for being the first paying passenger on the 20:50 minute route.

    Also, among the passengers were famous “first flighter” Clara Adams, who was on the first leg of a record-breaking, round-the-world flight; United States Lines president John M. Franklin; and Texaco chairman Torkild Rieber, who would be later ousted over his close business relations with Nazi Germany.

    This flight began the era of the heavier-than-air trans-Atlantic passenger service. Later, on July 8, the Yankee Clipper would launch Pan Am service across the Atlantic on the northern route, carrying 17 passengers to England.

    The aircraft flew the southern route across the Atlantic, landing in Lisbon the next afternoon after a flight of approximately 27 hours (which included a stop at Horta in the Azores), and then flew to its final destination in Marseilles, France the next day.

    The Boeing 314 Clipper was an American long-range flying boat produced by Boeing from 1938 to 1941. The type could carry 74 passengers onboard.

    One of the largest aircraft of its time, the Clipper had a range of 3,500 miles, enough to cross the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. With a cost of US$550,000 (1936) per unit, it was powered by four Wright R-2600 Twin Cyclone radial engines.

    For its wings, Boeing re-used the design from their earlier XB-15 bomber prototype. Twelve Clippers were built, nine of which served with Pan American World Airways.

    Pan Am’s Clippers were built for one-class luxury air travel, a necessity given the long duration of trans-Oceanic flights. One of the many features was the seats, which could be converted into 36 bunks for overnight accommodation.

    Other luxury features of the Boeing 314 included a lounge and dining area, with the galleys crewed by chefs from four-star hotels. Men and women were provided with separate dressing rooms, and white-coated stewards served five and six-course meals with gleaming silver service.

    With a cruising speed of 188 miles per hour (303 km/h) (typical flights at maximum gross weight were flown at 155 miles per hour (249 km/h)) in 1940, Pan Am’s schedule San Francisco to Honolulu was 19 hours.

    Initial Mail Delivery Flight Also Starts in Port Washington

    Twelve years after Charles Lindbergh crossed the Atlantic on the single-engine Spirit of St. Louis on May 20, 1939, Pan Am’s Boeing 314 Yankee Clipper departed Port Washington, New York for the first scheduled mail service across the Atlantic. 

    According to clipperflyingboats.com, the Clipper carried 112,574 pieces of mail (mostly from stamp- collectors), four dozen California marigolds for Britain’s Queen Mary, and 16 Pan Am employees under the command of Captain Arthur E. La Porte. 

    Share. Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email
    Metropolitan Airport News
    • Website
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • LinkedIn

    Produced by a team of aviation professionals, and enthusiasts our mission is to inform and update the more than 68,000 employees who work on the metropolitan New York airport properties, as well as the many others that provide goods and services in the surrounding communities.

    RELATED NEWS & UPDATES

    The Hindenburg

    June 9, 2022

    James Bond, the Concorde, and the Pan Am Podcast

    May 7, 2022

    The Intrepid Sea, Air, and Space Museum

    May 6, 2022

    Operation Babylift: A Celebration of the Human Spirit

    May 2, 2022

    The Transatlantic Jet Race

    April 7, 2022

    Floyd Bennett Field: New York’s First Airport 

    March 8, 2022
    View 1 Comment

    1 Comment

    1. Alexander Jennifer on January 14, 2021 11:48 am

      Thank you for this post and detailed history of these early Pan Am flights and luxury inflight service. Fun to imagine being there.

      Reply

    Leave A Reply Cancel Reply

    This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

    UPCOMING AIRPORT EVENTS
    Civil Air Patrol Falcon Squadron Meeting
    June 27, 2022
    7:00 PM to 9:00 PM
    • John F. Kennedy International Airport-(JFK)
    Jamaica, New York
    Civil Rights, Race, & Gender Equity: Pan Am's Diversity in Flight
    June 27, 2022
    1:00 PM to 4:30 PM
    • Cradle of Aviation Museum
    Garden City, New York
    JFK Chamber of Commerce Luncheon
    June 28, 2022
    11:30 AM
    • Russo’s On the Bay
    Howard Beach, New York
    • >> More Airport & Aviation Industry Events
    RELATED NEWS

    The First American Woman in Space: Unveiling of Sculpture Honors Dr. Sally Ride

    By Julia Lauria-BlumJune 18, 2022

    Today a monumental sculpture was publicly unveiled and dedicated to the late astronaut Dr. Sally…

    Life-sized Lego Commercial Pilot Unveiled at JFK Terminal 4 Lego Store

    June 16, 2022

    SAF Has Been Delivered to New York Using Existing Petroleum Pipelines

    June 15, 2022

    PLAY Reintroducing International Flights at New York Stewart International Airport

    June 10, 2022

    Subscribe for Updates

    Get the latest local airport and aviation news delivered right into your inbox each week!

    Metropolitan Airport News provides timely news, information and updates for both Port Authority of New York & New Jersey (PANYNJ) employees and businesses that provide services at, and around the major New York airports (JFK, LGA, EWR).

    John F. Kennedy International Airport
    PO Box 300877
    Jamaica, NY 11430 USA
    Phone: (347) 396-0904
    Email Us

    Facebook Twitter YouTube LinkedIn Flickr
    JUNE 2022 ISSUE
    Metropolitan Airport News - June-2022
    LATEST COMMENTS
    • Dayna Harap  - Fast Five on The JFK Air Cargo Association Names New President
    • Ryan on Cockpit Jumpseating: The Best Seat in the House
    • Roberta Bassin on Finding Charlie
    • About Us
    • Advertising
    • Charitable Giving Program
    • Back Issue Archive
    • Contact Us
    © 2022 Airport Media, Inc. All rights reserved.

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.