Pan Am, founded in 1927 and officially known as Pan American World Airways LLC, just marked the start of its centennial celebrations by completing “Tracing the Transatlantic”, the first in a trilogy of inaugural 21st century voyages. Iconic blonde-haired blue-eyed global poster girl and CEO of Stick No Bills Meg Gage Williams of the 16th Century-sprung Williams mining dynasty of Cornwall was on board to auction a 24ct gilded poster artwork designed by her creative company The Archives Design Group to commemorate this historic trip.
The lavish 12 night Pan Am-liveried journey organised by Beyond Capricorn retraced the original southern route forged by the airline across the Atlantic in the 1930s, this time chaperoning its erudite anonymous passengers from one landmark five star hotel to another between New York, Bermuda, Lisbon, Marseille, London and finally Foynes in Ireland before heading back to John F Kennedy Airport.
Famous for airborne fine dining as fabulous as The Savoy’s, provided by elegant flight attendants trained in what predecessor steward turned Hollywood star and Pan Am Museum board member Phillip Keene affectionately recalls as ‘Barbie Doll Boot Camp’ to not only gracefully carve roasts, but also, in terrible turbulence, “serve Chateaubriand at 40,000 feet without spilling a drop”, the reincarnation of Pan Am's legendary “blue meat-ball”-branded planes and outstanding mid 20th Century illustrative destination marketing poster artworks under authorisation has been a collaborative feat the characteristics of which are crystallised in the commissioned design.
The revival project, global in its reach and remit, has been executed by Beyond Capricorn, The Archives Design Group and Stick No Bills all working for many years behind the scenes on the research and preparation under official license of trademark owner Pan American World Airways LLC, the original airline company now well into its second year of being in the hands of dynamic new owner Nashville-born, California-based Craig Carter.
For those nostalgic for the advent of jet set travel, Pan Am, first known for moving mail and then people to far flung destinations, epitomises the golden age of flying. The brand's go-getter expansionist philosophy underpinned by an exacting flare for design and customer service was consistently found in every detail aboard every flight; affirmative attributes which set the tone in which Pan Am passengers arrived in different countries around the world.
From the moment Pan Am ceased operations in 1991 it was immediately missed for its unsurpassable pizzazz. It's been my vision since 2019 to help engineer its colourful comeback” says Gary Bartelings, co-founder of luxury private air company Beyond Capricorn with his partner American travel industry veteran Steve Ridgeway of Criterion Travel.
So, now that Pan Am is back in the skies, you too can be one of the lucky passengers to join one of these three epic multi-stop Centennial journeys, the second of which is the West-bound twin of this first commemorative journey: Tracing The Transpacific. Departing from San Francisco on April 11th 2026 for Tokyo, Siem Reap, Singapore, Darwin, Sydney, Auckland, Fiji before returning to San Francisco 20 days later, all inclusive tickets start at $94,495. But hurry; there are only fifty lie-flat seats on the plane and many of the passengers on Tracing The Transatlantic are booking so that they can remain part of this unique story; history in the making. Full details of plans for the third centennial trip: “Around The World With Pan Am” will be released in 2026.
Once on board all you will need to do is sit back in your large leather chair, enjoy the views and relax as cheer-filled white-gloved attendants wearing Galaxy Gold and Super Jet Blue uniforms with pill box hats serve you Clipper Club flutes of champagne and canapes on trays adorned with fresh pink David Austen roses.
Williams´ ironically named fine art print poster art enterprise Stick No Bills, founded in Asia fifteen years ago with her late husband Philip James Baber echoes Pan Am in its adventurous spirit of fearless innovation. Meg, understanding the power of words from her legendary ancestor advertising guru Sir David Ogilvy whose many memorable lines include: “if each of us hires people who are bigger than we are, we shall become a company of giants" remarks:
“Pan Am is living testimony to that maxim. The people making Pan Am happen again today have the same sheer tenacity and charm of their forebearers. I for one just had the trip of my lifetime. The welcome we got on arrival in Ireland was amazing and the launch of the truly fantastic Flying Boat Museum there in 2016 is testimony to how the people of County Limerick feel a deep-rooted sense of connection with Pan Am; the pioneer of passenger jet travel who relied on Foynes' deep estuary as a friendly landing zone and facilitator of onward flights.
It was a huge honour to be invited to put Pan Am: Tracing The Transatlantic under the golden hammer at a ´grand finali dinner hosted by the museum. I am thrilled that we were able to fundraise for such an important heritage preservation project thanks to the deep pockets of Craig Carter and one other gentleman bidder who went head-to-head until Craig won the auction, thereby securing a new home for this Master Edition which is, as of this morning, on its way by road from New York “Pan-America” to Los Angeles to preside over the reception at Craig and his realtor partner Steve Craig´s new 110-bedroom Pan Am-branded hotel opening next spring.
Williams, who is proud to be adding the freshly minted commissioned artwork to the official Stick No Bills collection of historic Pan Am posters which The Archives Design Group has tracked down, digitally restored and augmented under license, believes Pan Am's comeback is a game raiser not only for the select entourages that make it onto this seminal trilogy of commemorative flights but for the travel industry as a whole.
After all isn't life about the pursuit of dignified, amicable inter-connection and who wouldn’t want to fly to London to meet Mary Quant’s Mod Girls’ like the heroine depicted in a ground breaking ad campaign in the 60s when “ENGLAND” became the gateway to Europe; the Cool Britannia of the world that inspired a new generation (our mothers and grandmothers) into a Can-Do mind set which made travel totally irresistible. Pan Am´s swinging 60s posters were not just sexy and fun. They were also imbued with the idea that fortune favours the brave and the playful: those who work hard to make stylishness look easy, a theory encapsulated in the graphic art genius of Mod Girl´s beauty spot.
With just 20 months to go until the hundredth anniversary of Pan Am in March 2027, Stick No Bills´ strapline: “The journey has just begun” has never been truer. And what a vibrant journey it is. Juliet Coombe. Shannon & London, 25-30th June 2025.
About Stick No Bills®
Stick No Bills was founded in Galle Fort, Sri Lanka, in 2011, by British entrepreneurs Philip James Baber and Meg Gage Williams to connect cultures and transcend borders by spearheading a renaissance in poster art. Apart from the brand’s original Asia Flagship gallery in Galle Fort, Stick No Bills now has a satellite Sri Lanka gallery on Hiriketiya Beach; a Global Printworks & Poster Gallery at Imprenta Nueva Balear in Palma de Mallorca; Europe and Middle East regional flagship galleries in Barcelona and Dubai with Master Editions exhibited at the Iconic Images Gallery in London, and a further 65 certified points of sale worldwide.
The poster art specialists also supply quality poster art to the Pan Am Museum under authorisation of Pan Am World Airways LLC in New York since 2021; to their licensor Braniff International Airways in Dallas since 2022 and to Planewear in Seacom International Airport in Seattle since 2023.
The driving force behind Stick No Bills’ innovation is The Archives Design Group’s creative and curatorial team who specialise in the design and promulgation of modern graphic artworks to promote emblematic destinations, institutions and major cultural events. This is married with the curation, restoration, augmentation and authorised revival of historic artefacts drawn from legacy institutional archives, including the pioneering cruise, rail and airline operators regarded as pastmasters of the same place-centric poster art genre within which Stick No Bills has emerged to be a 21st Century market leader.
Press contact: Kiki King kiki@sticknobillsonline.com @sticknobillsposters
About Pan Am Global Holdings LLC
Pan Am Global Holdings LLC, known worldwide as the premier travel icon, represents a way of travel long since forgotten; a time when the journey was anticipated and savored as much as the destination. Pan Am Brands is the trade name for Pan American World Airways, LLC, the owner of intellectual property rights of the original Pan Am. Pan Am Global Holdings LLC and Pan Am Brands are based in Newport Beach, California and is focused on developing further brand recognition for the iconic Pan Am trademarks through Pan Am Hotels, Pan Am Travel, The Pan Am Experience and Pan Am Private Jet Tours. Pan Am’s licensing programs promotes awareness of the airline's extraordinary history www.panam.com
Press contact: amy.carter@panam.com / + 949-887-4055 / @panamofficial
