Anthony began his obsession with Pan Am as a child, when he and his parents frequently flew to Europe to visit family. Pan Am's service seems decadent and almost silly today, when Southwest and JetBlue achieve success with a budget mentality, but to Anthony, Pan Am was the epitome of class and style.

Pan Am was once synonymous with international jet-setting, with upper-deck dining rooms and flight attendants decked out in crisp blue uniforms, high heels and white gloves. First-class travelers were served out of silver-plated martini pitchers. A parade of linen-covered food carts made its way down the aisle at dinnertime.

Anthony saved things like the cardboard linings on food trays and recorded his trips with multiple rolls of film and extensive tape recordings of the radio selection on board. "This consumed my world," said Tosh. As an adult, he works for United Airlines, and two years ago bought a home with an oversized garage in which he could build a faithful replica of Pan Am's first-class cabin. The project has taken him, in total, 20 years.

Construction required multiple visits out to a spot in Death Valley where airplane carcasses are dumped, but the details of his project are unnervingly precise: The replica isn't open to the public, but if you visit (Tosh hosts executive meetings sometimes, appropriately enough), you'll be offered drink service and given a perfectly-crafted souvenir boarding pass designed to match those used by the airline in the late '70s and early '80s. He's got authentic Pan Am swizzle sticks and glasses. The overhead compartments are original Pan Am construction. Hell, he's even got sealed packages of salted almonds (we have no evidence regarding the taste of 30-year-old almonds, but they're probably not for eating anyway).

The one concession he's made to the modern age? A flat-screen TV in place of the old-school projection Pan Am used. Everything else (save the stewardesses) is either original Pan Am or a custom-made replica. He's hoping to open his obsessive ode to Pan Am as a museum, but he seems perfectly content to just hang out in first class. [WSJ, images also WSJ]

Yes, that's right, painful because I don't have a secret bank account in Zurich to justify the trip and play with all these toys.

Check the touchscreen controls of the seat at minute 1:30, as well as the size of those Panasonic screens. The business class is not too shabby either, but the first class reminds me of the golden times of aviation, when everything was glamour and comfort. [Runway Girl]

The new design—which will debut in their new A330 airplanes—is quite a change from traditional my-cabin-is-my-oyster first class designs. According to the airline, it's more "architectural" which goes with the "design language of the brand." According to Paul Estoppey, senior manager and head of cabin interior development for Swiss International:

Our product drive is primarily intended to [lots of corpospeak here] I think that in the context of the current economic climate there may be opportunities for [blah blah blah. blah] while at the same time maintaining very high levels of comfort.

Quick translation: "New seat for rich people. The rest of you please keep eating your cardboard chicken." [Flight Global]

That extra 1,000 pounds of water (25% more than usual) means the aircraft will have to carry more fuel, which may weigh heavy on your environmental conscience. Or maybe lying in your massage bed in the private first class room, with remote-control doors and mini bar will make you forget your woes. [Mail on Sunday]

Officers already have what's known as the Silver Bullet—a small fleet of full-size trailers that can be loaded onto transport planes for officer travel, which the service claims is not sufficient for the amount of brass traversing the globe these days. What's got folks in Washington upset, however, is the diversion of over $16 million from the general "Global War on Terror" fund to build the pods, and ridiculous inefficiences like spending nearly $70,000 on subtle design tweaks like changing the color of the seat belts from brown to Air Force blue.

Granted, $16 million is pocket change for the Pentagon, and is anyone surprised that a government project is handling expenses inefficiently? When civilian first class gets more and more insane by the day, Air Force officers probably could stand a little in-flight R&R via SLICC.

[Washington Post via Danger Room]

Pictured: United first class pod, Onboard a C-130 transport

I just flew first class from Seattle to Dallas and it was horrible. I was upgraded during a full flight only to get drink service once (I'm actually using their horrid vocabulary) in 90-degree cabin heat. The only luxury was a seat designed for a normal human being. Next time I go first class, it will be on the United Arab Emirates. You get a luxury cubicle, full movie selection, noise-canceling headphones and lots of neat buttons. Just give me the buttons. – Mark Wilson

[via uberreview]