Massive Corporate Reunion - Pan Am 2001 - Scheduled to Bring Thousands to Baltimore in September, 2001

BALTIMORE, Md.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 5,2000--In what organizers expect to be one of the largest corporate reunions in history, thousands of former employees of Pan American World Airways from around the world will gather in Baltimore for a four-day get-together to reminisce, discuss their experiences and renew old friendships.

The reunion, Pan Am 2001, is the culmination of years of work and planning on the part of many former Pan Ammers worldwide, headed by Captain George Price, a Miami resident whose experience with the airline dates back to piloting the magnificent Clipper Ship flying boats.

``Pan Am was a truly unique institution,'' said Price. ``More than any other company, Pan Am was a symbol of the might and reach of the United States. It pioneered air routes around the world, it negotiated air agreements with other countries on behalf of the U.S., it led the airline industry into the jet age with the introduction of the Boeing 707, and again into the jumbo jet era with the 747.

``Like its airplanes literally shrunk the globe, the people of Pan Am, representing virtually every nationality and culture, over the years became a close-knit multi-racial and multi-cultural group forming cross-ocean friendships in a collegial feeling that has not, in my estimation, been approached by any other company in history, '' Price said.

In fact, there are hundreds of groups and chapters of worldwide organizations of former and retired Pan Am employees which meet regularly. A number of those groups, including ``World Wings,'' the long-standing organization of Pan Am flight attendants, and ``Clipper Pioneers,'' the pilot counterpart group, will hold their annual gatherings in Baltimore to coincide with the events of Pan Am 2001.

Pan Am, formed by Juan Trippe with a route from Key West to Havana in 1927, ultimately grew to become a powerhouse airline that served virtually every continent. The company fell on hard times in the 1980s, and ultimately ceased operation in December 1991.

``It seemed fitting that we would try to put together a 10-year reunion, particularly since a Pan Am `space ship' was featured in the hit motion picture, `2001: A Space Odyssey' some years back. Baltimore was selected as the venue for a variety of reasons, but mostly because the original Martin Flying Boat Clippers were built there,'' Price said.

The original ``China Clipper'' and its counterparts first took to the air from Baltimore Harbor. When ``China Clipper'' pioneered trans-Pacific flying from San Francisco on November 22, 1935, President Franklin Roosevelt telephoned from the White House to give the crew clearance to taxi on the historic flight.

Pan Am 2001 activities and functions are still in the planning stage, but former Pan Am employees around the globe are being encouraged to check the reunion's web site, www.panam2001.com, for the latest updates and for information on how to register and attend the gathering.

``We're very excited about the interest that's been show to date by Pan Ammers around the world. Pan Am may be gone, but it's certainly not forgotten. We fully anticipate that people wearing, carrying and otherwise displaying the Pan Am ''Blue Ball`` globe logo will inundate Baltimore next year,'' Price added.