Introduction: Latin Laboratory (02:52)

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Review content from the previous "Across the Pacific" episode. (Sponsors)

Pan American Airways (06:22)

Juan Trippe faces significant foreign competition for international routes. The success of European airlines in Latin America challenges the Monroe Doctrine. Peter Paul von Bauer pushes for SCADTA service throughout the Caribbean, including a stop near the Panama Canal. (Credits)

Trippe's Success (04:03)

Trippe meets with Irving Glover while John Hambleton meets with state officials. Congress passes the Foreign Air Mail Act; Pan Am becomes the American airline presence in Latin America. Trippe marries Elizabeth Stettinius.

Air Mail Service (08:35)

Pan Am staff work long hours; Trippe announces intentions to go global. Charles Lindbergh pilots an S-38 to the Canal Zone. Hugo Leuteritz and Ferris Sellinger create a radio navigation system. Ed Musick agrees to use it and they calibrate the system.

Pan Am Expansion (05:07)

Basil Rowe's airline operates over the Cuba/Dominican Republic route, but Pan Am wins the foreign airmail contract and expands southward. The U.S. drafts an international air agreement. Trippe obtains routes in the Caribbean, Mexico, and South America, and buys out his competitors.

Commercial Air Travel (06:09)

Trippe asks Igor Sikorsky to design a 40 passenger plane within a year; he creates the S-40. Pan Am adopts a nautical theme and offers meals in flight.

Air Tourism (06:54)

Trippe launches an advertising campaign to increase passenger numbers. He partners with RKO Radio Pictures on a musical; it helps launch the Good Neighbor Policy.

Global Airline Goal (07:41)

Trippe maps possible North Atlantic air routes to Europe and requests designs for a multi-engine flying boat with a range of 2,500 miles; Sikorsky and Glenn Martin submit plans. The S-42 breaks several records.

Navigational System (04:17)

Leuteritz learns about the Adcock antenna and develops a long range direction finder. A series of events stops Trippe from launching Pan Am's transoceanic service.

Pacific Ocean Route (03:34)

Pan Am executives discuss the transoceanic service and Trippe decides to fly from California to China, shocking the board. See a preview of the next episode.

Credits: Latin Laboratory (01:11)

Credits: Latin Laboratory