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Friday March 24, 1:38 pm Eastern Time
GARY, Ind.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Pan American Airway's Flight No. 16 from Gary/Chicago to Sanford/Orlando departed with a full load of passengers today, marking the airline's first sold out flight from the airport which began scheduled passenger service only four months ago. Flight 16 on Saturday March 21st as well as Flight No. 17, returning to Gary/Chicago on Sunday, March 26, 2000 are also sold out.
Pan Am's President, Dave Fink, said, ``It is remarkable that we have been able to develop this market so fast. When we began service at the Gary/Chicago Airport in November, we planned on a slow, but steady, rate of growth. To have sold out our first flight so soon puts us way ahead of our business expectations.'' Fink added, ``A big part of this early success in Gary is the commitment and excitement of the local Airport Authority and community and business leaders who have invested in the economic vitality of the airport.''
The first sold out flight adds to a busy week of announcements for Pan Am and the Gary/Chicago Airport. On Monday, March 20, Pan Am announced that it had finalized an agreement for 10 Jetstream turbo prop aircraft that will be deployed over the next several months. The 19 passenger Jetstreams will initially provide Pan Am the opportunity to add additional links in Florida, connecting passengers to other Sunshine State locations. Key West and Fort Myers are being considered as potential Jetstream Clipper Connection locations. Details on these cities will emerge in this spring.
Adding to Pan Am and Gary/Chicago's busy week was the start of scheduled passenger service with Pittsburgh. The first Pittsburgh flight took off on Monday, March 20. The flight departs Gary/Chicago at 5:00PM (CST), arrives in Pittsburgh at 7:20PM (EST), and continues on to New England through Portsmouth, NH. Flights from Pittsburgh depart at 8:20 AM (EST) and arrive in Gary/Chicago at 8:35 AM (CST).
Dan Fortnam, Pan Am's Vice President of Marketing, said, ``Pan Am's load factors system wide have been much better than we anticipated. System wide, we are approaching 55%, and in Gary/Chicago I expect to end the first quarter near 40%. This is quite an accomplishment considering that just 16 weeks ago there were no scheduled passenger flights from this airport.''
About Pan Am:
The original Pan Am, founded in the late 1920's by Juan Trippe, set the standard for modern air travel worldwide as the operator of the famous Pan Am Clippers and, later, as the first to fly the Boeing 747. Along the way, Pan Am's blue globe became one of the most recognized logos in the world.
The owners of New Hampshire-based Guilford Transportation Industries acquired the new Pan Am in June of 1998. The new owners relocated the company's headquarters from Ft. Lauderdale to Portsmouth in December of 1998. At Portsmouth, the company operates a 220,000 square foot maintenance facility, as well as other aviation related businesses.
Pan Am currently provides scheduled passenger service to New England through Portsmouth, NH, Gary/Chicago, IN, Sanford/Orlando, FL, and has recently added scheduled service in Bangor, ME and Pittsburgh, PA.