Airborne DreamsIn 1955 Pan American World Airways began recruiting Japanese American women to work as stewardesses on its Tokyo bound flights and eventually its round the world flights as well. Based in Honolulu, these women were informally known as Pan Ams Niseisecond generation Japanese Americanseven though not all of them were Japanese American or second generation. They were ostensibly hired for their Japanese language skills, but few spoke Japanese fluently.