A worldwide radio audience listened and 100,000 onlookers cheered on Nov. 22, 1935, as the giant* seaplane China Clipper lumbered out of the waters of San Francisco Bay and headed west. The seven-day, four-stop voyage to Manila by the Pan American World Airways craft marked the first commercial flight across the Pacific and opened a romantic new chapter in aviation history. Romance went to the movies in the 1936 film China Clipper, starring Humphrey Bogart.
Last week Pan Am closed the books on its pioneering role. In a startling move, the ailing carrier sold its Pacific routes to United Airlines for...
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