Clipper, Vol. 4, No. 5, March 10, 1948

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Pan American World Airwave
PACIFIC-ALASKA DIVISION
CLIPPER
Read From California to Calcutta, From Alaska to Australia
Voi. 4, No. 5
PUBLISHED BY THE EMPLOYES OF PAH AMERICAN WORLD AIRWAYS
March 10, 1948
BIGGEST SALES CONFERENCE IN PAD HISTORY AT HONOLULU THIS WEEK
Thomas Wolfe, Vice President in charge of the Pacific-Alaska Division, Pan American World Airways, will resign effective April 1 to establish his own business, it was announced last week by PAA President Juan T. Trippe. The resignation was accepted with deep regret, Mr. Trippe said.
“Mr. Wolfe, a veteran of 23 years in aviation and air transportation, joined PAA in 1946,” Mr. Trippe said. “In his capacity as chief executive officer for the Pacific-Alaska Division, he played an important 't in converting this Division from time operations to peacetime rvice and supervised the opening of newly certified routes, which today form a network of air transportation throughout the Pacific.” When Mr. Wolfe entered the Pacific-Alaska Division — one of Pan American’s three operating divisions —he spearheaded the biggest expansion program in the history of Pacific aviation. Emerging from the period of wartime operations, the Division not only resumed civilian service between the Mainland and Honolulu and New Zealand, but was certificated by the Civil Aeronautics Board to serve virtually every important city in the Orient.
The Division is currently flying 33,283 route miles with a fleet of 27 four-engined Douglas-built land planes. Those on the Pacific are equipped with Sleeperette seating units which are converted to full-length lounges at night. The Sleeperette, an innovation of Mr. Wolfe’s, is said to be responsible for the high load factors in the Division.
Mr. Wolfe began his aviation career as Manager of the Chicago Association of Commerce Aviation Department. When the New York-Chi-cago air mail service was turned over to private commercial carriers in 1927, he joined National Air Transport, now United Air Lines After nine years with United, he “•’cepted the position of Vice Presi---t of Western Air Lines and reamed there for ten years. More Recently he was Assistant to air-minded Justin Dart, one of Ameri-(Continued on Page 2)
Okerlund to Employment Superintendent Position
Miraralle Returns to First Love, Aircraft Maintenance
The man with the big grin, big ears and unquenchable sense of humor—Herb Okerlund, Industrial Relations Officer — has transferred
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Alaska Region
from the Francisco.
His new job at headquarters (Continued on Page 3)
San
Vice-President Wolfe Resigns from PAA
Man Who Spearheaded PAD'S Biggest Expansion Program Leaves April 1
Resigning PAD Chief Planning On Entering Private Business
HELP WANTED
San Francisco’s Housing Bureau, set-up to aid homeless PAA-ers, reports the cooperation of “transferring PAA-ers” is wanted. In other words, people who are about to be transferred to another station.
Unless they’ve been living in a tent, these people aren’t going to be needing their Burlingame, San Francisco, Palo Alto, San Mateo house or apartment or room.
True, most PAA-ers who transfer don’t own their home. They’ve been renting. But when leaving. most of these people have been allowing the landlord to pick their successors.
So this is what the unit would like transferring PAA-ers to do in the future:
Come to Room 123, Administration Building, San Francisco, well in advance of your departure date. Give Gerry Reiff or Laura Hartman of that office the tip. They in turn will pass it onto a poor homeless PAA-er, who can put the bite on the landlord before the latter promises it to someone from United or the friendly Southern Pacific.
ANNOUNCES MARRIAGE
Lois Thompson, PAD'S First Stewardess, Grounded
Lois Thompson, pioneer Pacific-Alaska Division stewardess, has left the skies to settle down as a married woman.
She revealed this news at a party in Burlingame last month when she surprised some 60 guests by telling them that she was married in Las Vegas on December 29 to Dick Blanchard of the transportation department of Johns Manville.
Lois, who joined PAA in 1942 as a stenographer at Seattle, was a member of the first stewardess class to graduate in the Alaska Region. Since Alaska had stewardesses long before the Pacific did, and since she made the first DC-S flight into Alaska. she can easily lay claim to the title of “PAD’S First Stewardess.”
She also had the honor of making the first DC-4 flight into Alaska. Coming to San Francisco in 1947,
she has piled up 3500 hours in the air ,roughly 700,000 miles of flying.
Her husband is a graduate of the University of Kansas. Present plans are indefinite but the two plan to make their home on the Peninsula.
Over Forty from Entire Pacific-Alaska Region Participating in Confab
Fessio Is Named Chairman of Conference Called by Hancock
More than 40 top executives and officials of the Pacific-Alaska Division of Pan American World Airways will fly to Honolulu this week from all parts of the Pacific to participate in the biggest sales convention the Division has ever held.
Honolulu was selected as the meeting place for the 1948 meeting for two reasons according to Harvey Hancock, PAD Director of Traffic and Pubrel, who has called the convention and will act as its director.
First, because of its strategic position as the crossroads of the Pacific, the Honolulu setting will allow members to attend with a mini, mum of time away from their jobs. The second reason, he said, was because of the heavy air travel to and from Hawaii. It is felt that it is highly advantageous that PAA people become personally familiar with the Islands.
Hancock has appointed Joe Fessio, PAD’s Sales Manager, who has organized and set up the conference, to act as chairman. Daytime meetings will be held March 11-12 in beautiful Elks Hall at the foot of Diamond Head.
The agenda for the conference is loaded! Fessio points out that it will be a “visual-audience” participating conference. Each member will get behind the mike at one time or another. And scores of charts will be presented, plus slides, motion pictures and recordings, painting a visual picture.
Experts prepared the slides and charts. Clement Hayes Watson, Vice-President of J. Walter Thompson Advertising Agency, flew to San Francisco from New York last week to assist in their development and presentation.
As the conventionnaires enter the Elks Hall, a huge sign across the threshold, “Join the Million a Month Club,” will greet them. This means the Pacific-Alaska Division expects to sell $24,000,000 (one million per month) this year, exclusive of mail. Half will be sold by the Division, half by other Divisions and the U. S. Sales force.
On opening day members will hear addresses by all traffic heads, (Continued on Page 2)
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