Headed for Hong Kong in August of 1968. My family and I are in the crowd waiting to board the plane. On this trip Cathay Pacific Airways made an unexpected stop at Phnom Penh, where everyone had to get off and wait in the departure lounge for half an hour before reboarding.

The aircraft was a Convair 880, a four engine jet that was reputed to have been the fastest commercial airliner built in the US. An Air Vietnam DC-3 is parked behind the line of passengers.

Above photo by John Wisely.

On July 1, 1971 I boarded Pan American flight 841 in Honolulu, bound for Saigon and a new job, with my wife, two kids and six pieces of luggage. 

Previously flown using a Boeing 707 aircraft, this was the first flight on this route using the then new B747. The daily flight at that time was routed San Francisco, Honolulu, Guam, Manila, Saigon and Singapore, with the plane returning trans-pacific as Pan Am flight 842.

Once airborne after refueling at Guam the plane suffered a landing gear problem. The pilot dumped fuel and returned to Guam where the problem was fixed and after several hours and we continued on our journey via Manila. Our arrival at Saigon's Tan Son Nhut Airport was very late. We made our way to the Majestic Hotel for some much needed rest.