Anthony Toth and the 1970s Pan Am 747 Cabin: The Story Behind the Pan Am Experience

Every evening aboard the Pan Am Experience starts the same way: a boarding pass at the check-in desk, a cocktail in the Clipper Club and then a walk onto a 1970s Boeing 747 cabin where the china, seats and service look exactly right. That attention to detail began with one person’s lifelong fascination with a single airline. On October 25, 2026, TechEBlog published a feature on Anthony Toth, the collector who spent decades recreating a Pan Am 747 cabin. Here is the story, and how it became the experience guests can book today at Air Hollywood in Los Angeles.

A five-year-old on a 747

Anthony Toth grew up in Ohio, near Cleveland Hopkins International Airport. When he was five, he flew on a Pan Am Boeing 747 to Europe to visit his grandparents. The trip stayed with him: the relaxed pace of the service, the seats, the magazines and the many small details that made flying feel like an occasion.

By his early teens he was photographing airliner interiors, collecting items carrying Pan Am branding and building wooden cabin mockups in his parents’ basement. It was the beginning of a collection that would eventually run to thousands of pieces.

Rescuing pieces of airline history

Later in his career, Toth worked in airline sales after parts of Pan Am’s network passed to United. According to the TechEBlog feature, that gave him a chance to save galley equipment, glassware and linens that might otherwise have been thrown away, often carrying them off in his own small car. Over the years the collection grew to include everything from cabin fittings down to salt and pepper shakers and the original peanut packaging.

From a garage in Redondo Beach

As our Our Story page explains, the Pan Am Experience began in 2007 in Anthony Toth’s garage in Redondo Beach, with a few friends gathered around a partial cabin. The garage version had rows of first-class seats wired for vintage headsets, period-style boarding cards and dinners served on real Pan Am china. The gatherings were informal, but the commitment to authenticity was already there: bins, consoles and small touches were original pieces or rebuilt from photographs and airline documents.

A full 747 interior in a warehouse

By 2012 the project had outgrown the garage. Toth moved it to a warehouse in the City of Industry, where he built an entire 747-200 interior. The TechEBlog article describes an upper deck lounge, a first-class galley, rows of Clipper Class seats, a ticket desk, a short jet bridge section and a real aircraft door. Former Pan Am flight attendants began attending in their old uniforms, and the dinners became more structured, much closer to a real flight.

Meeting Air Hollywood

In 2013, Toth met Talaat Captan, founder of Air Hollywood, the aviation-themed film studio in the Los Angeles area. The 747 moved to Air Hollywood, where it was rebuilt using the studio’s expertise in aircraft mockups for film and television, with improved audio-visual systems, programmable LED lighting and central air conditioning. If you are curious how film sets make a cabin feel convincing, read how Hollywood airplane sets make flying feel real.

The Pan Am Experience officially opened on October 18, 2014. Since then it has hosted public flights as well as birthday parties, weddings, corporate events and fundraisers.

What that obsession means for your evening

Decades of collecting show up in every part of a flight today. The aircraft, named “Clipper Juan T. Trippe” in tribute to Pan Am’s first 747, has cabins restored to the airline’s original look, authentic china and glassware, and a crew in original-style uniforms.

• Check-in: a 70s-style boarding pass, ticket jacket and carry-on tags at the First & Clipper class desk.
• The Clipper Club: cocktails among vintage Pan Am memorabilia, from uniforms and airline seats to handbags and artwork.
• On board: a welcome cocktail, a classic safety demonstration and a gourmet five-course dinner served from the trolley, including Chateaubriand carved in the aisle.
• Choose your cabin: plush Sleeperette seats on the Main Deck for a quiet dinner, or the Upper Deck up the winding staircase for a more social atmosphere.
• Entertainment and keepsakes: music, fashion shows and a trivia contest, plus your menu, boarding pass, luggage tag and postcards to take home.

After landing, passengers are offered an optional tour of Air Hollywood’s production sets, including the original cockpit from the film Airplane! The full journey is described on The Experience page.

Why this story resonates

Many people have a “first flight” memory. Toth’s turned into a lifelong project, and it explains why the Pan Am Experience feels less like a themed restaurant and more like stepping into a preserved moment of the golden age of air travel. For aviation fans, it is a chance to see the details up close. For everyone else, it is a memorable night out in Los Angeles with a story behind it.

Plan your flight

The Pan Am Experience is at Air Hollywood, 27615 Avenue Hopkins, Valencia, CA 91355. Check flight dates and tickets, or book the 747 for a private event with seated dinners for up to 48 guests on board. Questions? Call 818-890-0444 or read our FAQ.

Frequently asked questions

Who is Anthony Toth?

Anthony Toth is the collector who spent decades recreating a 1970s Pan Am 747 cabin, starting in his Redondo Beach garage in 2007. His project became the Pan Am Experience at Air Hollywood.

When did the Pan Am Experience open at Air Hollywood?

The Pan Am Experience officially opened on October 18, 2014, after the 747 interior moved from a warehouse in the City of Industry to Air Hollywood in 2013.

Is the Pan Am Experience a real airplane?

No. It is a detailed 747 interior built inside Air Hollywood’s motion picture studio, so the whole “flight” takes place safely on the ground.