Pan Am
Definition
Short for Pan American World Airways, a major American airline that served as the principal and largest international air carrier in the United States from the late 1920s until its collapse in 1991.
A cultural shorthand for the glamorous, albeit smoke-filled, Golden Age of air travel, synonymous with mid-century jet-setting, stewardess chic, and the promise of global connectivity.
Examples
My grandfather still keeps his old Pan Am flight bag in the attic, mainly to remind us that flying used to involve actual legroom and a decent steak.
Trying to recreate the Pan Am aesthetic today usually just results in wearing a synthetic scarf and standing in an endless security line that stretches into the next decade.
Whenever I watch old films from the sixties, I half expect a Pan Am pilot to land the plane effortlessly while smoking a pipe in the cockpit.