Straight from the Catalina II news outlets.
Pan American Airways System (PAAS) has submitted a funded Letter Of Intent (LOI) to Catalina Aircraft Trust, LLC (Catalina Aircraft) for the purchase of up to forty-six (46) new production amphibious flying boats. Equipped with spacious Art Déco passenger cabins, each Next Generation Amphibious Aircraft (NGAA) Catalina II will be powered by modern turboprop engines and certified as commercial airliners to the FAA’s rigorous Transport Category standards.
The PAAS Catalina II amphibious “Clippers” will be the first flying boats to operate under Pan Am’s classic ‘Winged Globe’ logo since April 1946 and the cabin will be uniquely configured to the specific needs of PAAS’ high-end passengers. To be deployed initially in Africa, the first multi-sector trunk route will operate the length of the continent, between Alexandria (Egypt) and Cape Town (South Africa). Thereafter, further such routes across the Mediterranean will follow, before prudent expansion into routes around the Caribbean, across South Asia and down the Eastern Seaboard of South America to Rio de Janeiro and Buenos Aires.
Passengers aboard the PAAS Catalina II Clippers will be pampered and cosseted at all times, and will enjoy a level of comfort and service not commonly available even in first class aboard today’s modern airliners. With only ten deep-recline “Clipper Class” executive seats in a VVIP suite-style configuration on each aircraft, the Catalina II Clippers will afford PAAS passengers not only the room to stretch out but also the room to move about. The cabins will be configured to meet PAAS’ own requirements and will boast a restroom, an observation deck, a communal lounge and a galley, and will provide for inflight service by two cabin crewmembers trained to provide the impeccable service that passengers enjoyed aboard Pan Am’s original Clippers during the 1930s and 40s.
Both PAAS and Catalina Aircraft are committed to company-wide sustainable operations and the highest of environmental standards. A range of green initiatives will be incorporated into all aspects of both companies’ operations, including the use of Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) compatible with the turbo prop engines of the NGAA Catalina II.
About Pan American Airways System:
Headquartered in Hong Kong, Pan American Airways System is a unique air carrier, offering a luxury “Golden Age of Aviation” bespoke air travel experiences to premium mid-market and high-end travelers. Multi-sector trunk routes will connect 5-star lodges / safari camps / hotels located at water’s edge in secluded and remote locations. Aboard its luxuriously-equipped multi-engine turboprop NGAA Catalina II amphibious flying boats, PAAS passengers will receive the same legendary attentive service for which Pan Am’s Clippers of the 1930s and 40s became world famous.
Pan American Airways System will launch with service to destinations in Africa, rapidly developing a trunk route that will stretch between Alexandria in Egypt and Cape Town in South Africa. Along the way, passengers will see the Nile below them and will visit such locations as the Murchison Falls at Lake Albert; Lake Victoria; Kenya’s fabled Maasai Mara; the historic city of Zanzibar; the legendary Serengeti of Tanzania; Malawi’s Calendar Lake; spectacular Mosi-oa-Tunya (the ‘Smoke That Thunders’) otherwise known as the Victoria Falls and one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World; the awe-inspiring Namib Desert; the Augrabies Falls; and Table Mountain that towers over Table Bay in South Africa’s ‘Mother City’ of Cape Town.
Expansion plans call for PAAS to operate their Catalina II Clippers across the Mediterranean, around the Caribbean, across South Asia and ultimately down the Eastern Seaboard of South America to Rio de Janeiro and Buenos Aires.
Pan American Airways System will conduct flying boat operations under a license agreement with Pan American World Airways LLC of Newport Beach, California.
Photographs Courtesy of Catalina II
Catalina II Website