Joan Foulks worked cabin crew for Pan Am from 1979 until its collapse. She speaks to Sarah Holt about the experience.
The airline Pan Am is synonymous with the Golden Age of air travel. In its heyday, between the 50s and 70s, its planes were record-breaking, its cabin crew had Hollywood-star style, and its first-class service was silver.
Unfortunately, what was once the largest international airline in the United States – and the first carrier to fly the jumbo jet – collapsed in 1991, after 64 years of operation. However, it turns out that Pan Am’s final flight, which ran from Bridgetown to Miami in December 1991, will not be the brand’s swansong after all.
In summer 2025, the Pan Am name will be taken mile-high again as Pan American World Airways hosts a commemorative trip, designed to evoke the halcyon era of jet travel for just 50 passengers.
Inspired by Pan Am’s original transatlantic routes, the 12-day journey will take passengers from New York to Bermuda and on to Lisbon, Marseilles, London and Foynes in Ireland, before heading back to New York. The flights will take place on an adapted Boeing 757 and tickets will cost $65,500 for solo travellers and $59,950 per person for pairs.
“Join us as we commemorate Pan Am’s legendary service, quality, and caché in the 21st century on an exclusive private air programmwe aboard a luxurious modern aircraft, limited to just 50 participants,” the website for the experience says.
Having worked as an air hostess for Pan Am between 1979 until the company’s dissolution, Joan Foulks – now 76 – knows all about this service, quality and cache.
“You really had to be on your game,” Joan recalls.
“You couldn’t get away with anything. You’d show up and they’d evaluate your appearance before a flight. If it wasn’t right, you’d be sent home. You had to look the part.
“I remember there was a huge storm in [either 1979 or 1980]. Transport had stopped.
“I couldn’t get a cab to work, so I flagged down a police car that had to stop by a block of flats near Heathrow to deal with an altercation.
“But I made it to the office. Even though I was one of the few who made it in, my boots weren’t regulation, so I had a write-up in my file.”
Joan moved from New York to London to take up her role as cabin crew and the first few months in the job weren’t easy.
“It was hard at the start,” she says. “We were paid in dollars and the dollar was really weak against the pound. I think it was about $2.43 to the pound.
“I had been living it large in New York, with a loft apartment and an artist boyfriend and I found myself in Chiswick with three roommates and no central heating.”
However, the initial discomfort turned out to be worth it for Joan.
“It was like you were royalty when you worked for Pan Am,” she says.
“It was a job that got you a lot of respect and power. Little girls wanted to grow up to be you. It was a job you looked forward to getting up for, that made you excited in the mornings. I flew with some people who did it on the side [just because] it was so much fun. One person I flew with was a doctor.”
On 747 flights out of London, to places such as San Francisco, New York, Washington and New Delhi, Joan got to rub shoulders with celebrities and royalty.
“George Harrison, Blondie, Tom Jones, you name it, there were tonnes of celebrities,” Joan says.
“Jane Seymour asked for cups of water, she was a very good water colourist.
“I had Princess Margaret on a flight once. We were briefed about how much she loved tea, but by tea they meant gin, so we served her gin in a little white porcelain teapot.”
In first class, Pan Am’s meal service regularly included beluga caviar and roast beef.
“We served the beef on two carts,” Joan explains. “The first was rare and the second was medium rare.”
After the dissolution of Pan Am, Joan continued to work for United Airlines, which had taken over Pan Am’s Pacific Division in 1985. She finally retired in June this year, having witnessed irreparable changes in the airline industry.
“We used to wear cotton gloves, now they wear plastic,” says Joan.
“You go to a major hub like Chicago and passengers are turning up in pyjamas. People used to dress up.
“When people dress well, they behave better. In first class, people used to look forward to the service, now they just want space and a TV dinner.”
Overall, Joan’s memories of her time in aviation are positive. She calls her apartment in Ealing “The Cockpit”, as it’s full of flying memorabilia.
But would Joan be tempted to return to the skies to crew the 2025 flight, if they asked her?
“I’m sure they’ll get some young, gorgeous people on there,” she says.
“My tips for them, though, would be less is more. Be charming, reserved, well-groomed, well versed and give people their space. The whole thing should be simply class.”