Ed Acker of Pan Am: Triumphs and Tragedies

John Swinfield's Big Business

SYNOPSIS

ED ACKER of Pan Am: Triumphs and Tragedies

Flying taxis, private space shots, aircraft powered by electricity, solar and even hydrogen. Aviation has witnessed swift and tumultuous developments from the heady days of the intrepid Wright brothers taking to the skies over North Carolina at the dawn of the 20th century.
As Covid and its variations, from Delta to Omicron, wreaks havoc on routes and companies and passenger numbers – commercial airlines have faced some of the most testing times in their chequered and quixotic histories.
John Swinfield, whose books include the history volume, ‘Airship: Design, Development & Disaster (published by Conway and the US Naval Institute Press, 2012) looks at the winds of change which are sweeping through civil aviation and recalls the time he spent in the United States with Ed Acker, the boss of the mighty Pan Am, the once illustrious and pioneering colossus of the industry.
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