A Pan American Boeing 757-200, known as Yankee Clipper 11, has touched down at Shannon Airport as part of a nostalgic return to Ireland after three decades.
It is part of the retracing of the historic Flying Boat routes of the 1930s and 1940s.
The special flight began its journey in New York and stopped in Bermuda, Marseille, Lisbon and London, before arriving in Shannon.
The final destination is Foynes in Limerick, once the hub of transatlantic aviation.
Pan Am carried out 2,097 flights across the North Atlantic to Foynes during 1937 and 1945 in the Boeing B314 Flying Boats.
Pan Am carried many VIP passengers including Ernest Hemingway, Humphrey Bogart, Yehudi Menuhin, John F Kennedy, Eleanor Roosevelt and King George of Greece.
They all arrived in Foynes on their journeys where singer Gracie Fields burst into an impromptu sing-song on the pier for locals.
In October 1945, the final Pan Am Flying Boat flight departed Foynes and operations moved across the estuary to Shannon Airport for the beginning of land-based aircraft.
This tribute flight, 'Tracing the Transatlantic', is hosted by Craig Carter, the CEO of Pan American World Airways, and operated by Bartelings in collaboration with Criterion Travel.
Fifty passengers paid around $60,000 per person for this exclusive trip. While visiting Ireland they will stay at Adare Manor Hotel.
The highlight of the trip will be a visit to Foynes Flying Boat and Maritime Museum. The group will be welcomed by Minister for Culture Patrick O’Donovan and by the Chairman of the Museum board Eamonn Brennan.
The museum re-opened last year after undergoing a €5m upgrade and features the world’s only full-size replica of a Boeing 314 Flying Boat, better known as the Yankee Clipper.
The refurbishment also includes a cinema and flight simulators. And there is an exhibition marking the lifetime achievements of actress Maureen O’Hara and her connection to Foynes.
