The Pan Am brand takes to the skies with new private-jet tours

Beyond Capricorn, an operator created by Gary Bartelings of private jet specialist Bartelings and Steve Ridgway of tour operator Criterion Travel, is operating the 12-day Pan Am private-jet itinerary, which took off Tuesday from New York JFK.

Pan Am, which was founded in 1927, shuttered in 1991. The operators formed a licensing partnership with Pan American World Airways, which licenses the Pan Am name and logo, and aims to "revive the glamour of travel's golden age." 

On the tour, 35 travelers will explore stops made on the airline's original transatlantic routes, including Bermuda, Lisbon, Marseille, London and Foynes. Beyond Capricorn accepts travel advisor bookings and pays 10% commission.

"This itinerary, created by our partners at Bartelings and Criterion Travel, continues to garner great interest from the travel advisor community," said Craig Carter, CEO of Pan American World Airways. "Designed to honor the unmatched legacy of Pan Am, the private jet journey will be a memorable experience for their most discerning clients."

Beyond Capricorn was born of a shared appreciation between Bartelings and Ridgway of the Pan Am glory days and designed the operator to sell the reincarnation of the brand. 

"It's a brand that we came up with around 'beyond Capricorn,' the idea being, it's over the horizon, it's opening your eyes and traveling the world," Bartelings said. "And it just seemed a good way of establishing a solid platform to promote Pan Am in one single way." 

The Pan Am experience

Passengers will fly on a Boeing 757 chartered from Icelandair and enjoy business-class, lie-flat seats. The tour operator blends classic Pan Am elements with modern travel. Travelers will see the flight crew wearing Pan Am uniforms and will receive their tickets in vintage branded sleeves. 

Bartelings said the idea to operate an itinerary under Pan Am's name was first considered pre-pandemic and then again in 2023. He and Ridgway already had formed a relationship through Criterion chartering planes for itineraries. 

"Back when a lot of us began in the travel business, Pan Am was the preeminent carrier," Ridgway said. "There's an amazing amount of loyalty amongst former Pan Am people, but also a very high level of awareness amongst those of us who were around when they were the top airline, not just in the U.S., but in the world. It's interesting, too, because what's happening now is, it's catching on with young people."

Beyond Capricorn will operate a holiday itinerary, Christmas Markets of Europe, a Pan Am Journey by Private Air, in December. The 10-day trip will visit Christmas markets in Portugal, Austria, Germany and Latvia. 

It also plans to launch a Tracing the Transpacific flight next year on a Boeing 767. The 20-day itinerary costs $94,495 and will begin April 11 in San Francisco. Travelers will visit Honolulu, Vietnam, Cambodia, Singapore, Darwin, Sydney, Auckland and Fiji. 

Though not yet available for bookings, Beyond Capricorn plans to operate an around-the-world trip in 2027 to celebrate 100 years of Pan Am. The journey will begin in San Francisco and visit Tahiti, Sydney, Bangkok, Delhi, Cairo, Casablanca and end in Miami.