Pan Am Flight 73, a Pan American World Airways Boeing 747-121, was hijacked on September 5, 1986, while on the ground at Karachi, Pakistan, by four armed men of the Abu Nidal Organization. The aircraft, with 360 on board, had just arrived from Sahar International Airport in Bombay, India and was preparing to depart Jinnah International Airport in Karachi for Frankfurt Airport in Frankfurt am Main, West Germany, ultimately continuing on to John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City, United States.

Twenty of the passengers were killed during the hijacking, of which 13 were from India and the rest were from United States, Pakistan and Mexico. All the hijackers were arrested and sentenced to death in Pakistan. However, the sentences were later commuted to life in prison against the wishes of the United States and India.

The incident began as passengers boarded the Frankfurt-bound aircraft in Karachi. A subsequent FBI investigation revealed that the hijack occurred despite the presence of armed agents near the aircraft. The four hijackers were dressed as Karachi airport security guards and were armed with assault rifles, pistols, grenades, and plastic explosive belts. At about 06:00 a.m. local time, the hijackers drove a van that had been modified to look like an airport security vehicle through a security checkpoint up to one of the boarding stairways to Pan Am Flight 73.

Pan American World Airways, commonly known as Pan Am, was the principal and largest international air carrier in the United States from 1927 until its collapse on December 4, 1991. Founded in 1927 as a scheduled air mail and passenger service operating between Key West, Florida and Havana, Cuba, the airline became a major company credited with many innovations that shaped the international airline industry, including the widespread use of jet aircraft, jumbo jets, and computerized reservation systems. It was also a founding member of the International Air Transport Association (IATA), the global airline industry association. Identified by its blue globe logo, the use of the word "Clipper" in aircraft names and call signs, and the white pilot uniform caps, the airline was a cultural icon of the 20th century. In an era dominated by flag carriers that were wholly or majority government-owned, it was also the unofficial flag carrier of the United States. During most of the jet era, Pan Am's flagship terminal was the Worldport located at John F. Kennedy Airport in New York.

Pam Ann is the air hostess alter-ego of Australian comedienne Caroline Reid. Performances focus on the nuances of air travel, identifying the individual quirks of some of the biggest international airlines and their media stereotypes. Her style leans towards camp humour, in the vein of Dame Edna Everage, Kathy Griffin and Chelsea Handler. The character of Pam Ann has developed a cult-like following and fans include Madonna, who describes Pam as "cruelly funny".

Pam Ann has been featured in an advertising campaign for British Airways with over 1.25m views in a 6 week period. Qantas have Pam Ann’s Live DVD ‘Come Fly with Me’ in their in-flight programming. Most recently Pam Ann has been working closely with JetBlue and will be performing on their first ever JetPride flight which is a first on any US carrier operating from San Francisco to Long Beach for the Long Beach Pride. On 21 April 2010 she was the featured entertainment at JetBlue's party to celebrate the launch of their new Sabre reservation system, held at JetBlue's hangar at JFK Airport.