Back Pan American-Grace Airways German Panagra Spanish Panagra NB Pan American-Grace Airways Portuguese Pan American-Grace Airways Vietnamese
 Pan American-Grace Airways Douglas DC-2 | |||||||
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| Founded | September 1928 | ||||||
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| Commenced operations | September 12, 1928 | ||||||
| Ceased operations | February 1, 1967 (merged with Braniff International Airways) | ||||||
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| Secondary hubs | |||||||
| Fleet size | See Fleet below | ||||||
| Destinations | See Destinations below | ||||||
| Parent company | Pan American World Airways, W. R. Grace and Company | ||||||
| Headquarters | New York, New York, United States | ||||||
| Key people | Harold J. Roig Andrew B. Shea Richard B. Cass | ||||||
Pan American-Grace Airways, also known as Panagra, and dubbed "The World's Friendliest Airline" was an airline formed as a joint venture between Pan American World Airways and Grace Shipping Company. On September 13, 1928, a small single-engine Fairchild airliner flew from Lima, Peru, to Talara, Peru, which marked not only the beginning of Pan American Grace Airways but also the inauguration of scheduled air transportation along the West Coast of South America. From this short flight in 1928 to nonstop flights from New York to South America with Douglas DC-8 Intercontinental Jets in 1966, Panagra became the standard-bearer for transportation between the US Mainland East Coast and the West Coast of South America for 39 years. The "World's Friendliest Airline" merged with Braniff International Airways in 1967, and the combined carrier became the largest US airline serving South America.