Pan American World Airways

Pan Am didn't just fly planes. It defined what international air travel was. Juan Trippe built it into the world's most glamorous airline, pioneering transatlantic and transpacific routes, introducing the Boeing 707 and 747 to commercial service, and creating the Jet Age aesthetic that still defines mid-century cool.

Deregulation in 1978 changed everything. Pan Am had no domestic routes to feed its international network. Discount carriers undercut its prices. The Lockerbie bombing in 1988 devastated both its reputation and its finances. Asset sales followed — the Pacific routes to United, the shuttle to Delta, the headquarters building (the iconic Pan Am Building on Park Avenue, now MetLife) to MetLife.

On December 4, 1991, Pan Am flew its last flight. The blue globe logo that once symbolized the future of travel became the most recognizable emblem of aviation nostalgia. The trademark is now actively licensed — one of the few dead brands that still generates meaningful revenue from its name alone.