Pan Am Catering Items
The 1980s "White Wave" Pattern
The 1980s "White Wave" Pattern
In 1986 Pan Am introduced what would be its last china and flatware pattern. The china was all manufactured by Bauscher Weiden of Germany. The simple all white pattern featured a waive design around the boarder of all plates. A close up of the pattern is seen below
The pattern included a dinner plate, salad & dessert plate, bread plate, bowl, coffee cup and saucer and a condiment cup. The same waive pattern is repeated at the base of each piece of the stainless steel flatware. This flatware pattern brought back two sizes of forks which had not been used by Pan Am since the 1950s. The flatware was produced by various manufacturers. This pattern featured some unique pieces including a tiny butter plate and an individual flower/bud vase which was placed on each passenger's tray table.
Directly below is a picture taken aboard an Airbus A310 showing Pan Am’s blue leather First Class blue seats. These seats were in use from 1986 through 1991. Below that is a photo of Pan Am’s Clipper Class (business class) cabin also aboard the A310. This business class seat pattern shown was also in service from 1986 through 1991. Both pictures show the white waive pattern in use.
The small round coffe pot shown to the right came about when Pan Am purchased a number of 747-200s from Metrojet in the early 1980s. These aircraft had been previously owned by Singapore airlines and had different sized coffee makers from the standard Pan Am machines. Until galleys were retrofitted Pan Am produce coffee pots that would fit the coffee machines.
Below is a picture of the 1980s silver service carrier. It was hard plastic on the outside and customized foam on the inside to prevent the silver service from getting dented during catering changes.
Below is a final "up close" comparrison of Pan Am flatware from the 1950s through 1991. The upper left set is from the 1950s used with the Rosenthall pattern. The upper right set with the Pan Am logo at the bottom of the handles is from the 1960s used with the Presidential pattern. On the lower left is the flatware used with the gold rim pattern in the 1970s. It had small Pan Am logos on the back side of each piece. The flatware on the lower right with the waive pattern on the base of the handles was used with Pan Am's 1980s Waive pattern china.
In the 1980s Pan Am continued to offer an elegant silver service for coffe & tea. Below are two versions of the 1980s pattern. One had design work on the handle and base while the other was smooth. Below that is a picture of the creamer & sugar for the smooth pattern. I do not yet have the ornate creamer set.
One nice feature of the 1980s First Class dinning service was the addition of a champagne / wine bucket. Pictured on the left are two different types. The bucket on the left was manufactured by "DJ" of Japan. The bucket on the right was manufactured by TQ Tradex Ltd.
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Wine presentation was always very important in Pan Am's international First Class. A folding wine rack was frequently used enabling flight attendants to present a red wine, white wine and champagne simultaneously to customers at their seats. To the left are several images of a wine rack from the 1980s.
There were many small serving pieces that were a part of Pan Am's International First Class service in the 1980s. Below is a stainless steel cork screw with the "Pan Am" written logo on one side.
Below the cork screw are two styles of stainless steel serving fork / spoons. One style has a flat bottom and the other comes to a slight point. Both styles have globe logos on the back. These pieces are slightly larger than utensils used by customers for eating. They were used by flight attendants when serving from the First Class cart.
At the bottom is a cheese knife with a stainless steel blade and wooden handle. It has a globe logo on the blade along with a part number issued by Pan Am's catering department. The knife was used on the first class cart during the cheese / dessert service.
Below the cork screw are two styles of stainless steel serving fork / spoons. One style has a flat bottom and the other comes to a slight point. Both styles have globe logos on the back. These pieces are slightly larger than utensils used by customers for eating. They were used by flight attendants when serving from the First Class cart.
At the bottom is a cheese knife with a stainless steel blade and wooden handle. It has a globe logo on the blade along with a part number issued by Pan Am's catering department. The knife was used on the first class cart during the cheese / dessert service.
The 1980s entree serving utensils, which include a carving set, spoons and cake server, are all stainless steel. The carving set and cake server do not have any Pan Am markings but the spoons have "Pan Am" on the back. Also, in the 1980s stainless steel tongs were used in First Class to distribute hot towels, bread, fruit and other items. The tongs are marked with "Pan Am," a part number and the manufacturer name "Wesco" on the bridge.
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A stainless steel sugar bowl & creamer were used in both Clipper (Business) Class and Economy Class during the 1980s. These pieces were produced by several different manufacturers.
The sugar bowl on the left has the globe logo and an inventory number on the bottom. The creamer does not. Inventory numbers were important in the 1980s as Pan Am sold all of its flight kitchens and relied on catering companies to cater aircraft. These catering facilities worked with various airlines and inventory numbers rather than sight recognition were needed to ensure Pan Am items were boarded on Pan Am aircraft.
The sugar bowl on the left has the globe logo and an inventory number on the bottom. The creamer does not. Inventory numbers were important in the 1980s as Pan Am sold all of its flight kitchens and relied on catering companies to cater aircraft. These catering facilities worked with various airlines and inventory numbers rather than sight recognition were needed to ensure Pan Am items were boarded on Pan Am aircraft.
In the late 1980s & 1990s almonds were offered to First Class & Clipper (Business) Class customers while peanuts were offered in Economy.
Foam cups and paper napkins used in Economy class from the late 1980s through 1991 including napkins from various promotions with Pepsi.
For many years Pan Am served caviar from a large container (blue top). Each container could serve between eight and ten passengers.
In the late 1980s Pan Am switched to individual portions of caviar (red top). A Pan Am logo appears on the bottom of the small jar.
In the late 1980s Pan Am switched to individual portions of caviar (red top). A Pan Am logo appears on the bottom of the small jar.
With some of the proceeds from the sale of Pan Am's Pacific routes the company launched the Pan Am Shuttle in the Fall of 1986. This hourly service between New York & Boston and New York & Washington was designed to compete with the then popular Eastern Airlines Shuttle. The Eastern Shuttle had been operating in these markets for over 20 years, however, it offered no food or drinks and required customers to buy their tickets in-flight.
To attract business away from Eastern Pan Am sold tickets in advance of the flight, had leather covered seats and offered snacks and beverages on board.
To attract business away from Eastern Pan Am sold tickets in advance of the flight, had leather covered seats and offered snacks and beverages on board.
The Pan Am Shuttle
Breakfast
Lunch & Dinner
To the right on top is a sample breakfast snack of fruit and coffee cake offered on the Pan Am Shuttle.
After 11:00am on a snack basket was offered. To the right in the middle position is a typical basket with cheese, crackers, snack mix and an apple.
Another innovation of the Pan Am Shuttle was to offer complimentary beer & wine along with soft drinks.
Finally, an empty snack basket can be seen to the right at the bottom.
Another innovation of the Pan Am Shuttle was to offer complimentary beer & wine along with soft drinks.
Finally, an empty snack basket can be seen to the right at the bottom.
In the late 1980s and early 1990s covered ceramic presentation dishes were used for a period to offer pate to First Class customers on the hor d'oeuvre cart from flights departing Europe. From Frankfurt a wild boar dish was featured while a duck dish was a offered from Paris. Neither of the two dishes had any Pan Am markings.
In the 1980s Pan Am began to offer "express" meals for First Class Customers who wanted to sleep or work as soon as possible after takeoff. These cold boxed meals featured quality cold cuts of meat, vegetables, cheeses and a sweet. They could be delivered to the customer with a beverage as soon as the aircraft reached cruising altitude.
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To see samples of Pan Am First Class Serving Carts from the 1980s click the "Cart Service" button.
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To see samples of Pan Am First Class Wave Pattern service click the "Wave Pattern" button