San Francisco is a city that loves a party, so the 75th anniversary of the first commercial trans-Pacific flight, which departed from San Francisco Bay (Airways, November 2010), was an event that wouldn't pass without celebration. The Bay Area's selection as the starting point for Pan American's first transoceanic service was the result of a process of elimination. Diplomatic relations and weather conditions helped to scratch the idea of service first across the Atlantic, then the Pacific via Alaska to Siberia and along the east coast of Asia. When the mid-latitudes route across the Pacific was settled upon, San Francisco won out over Los Angeles because it is 160mi (257km) closer to Hawai'i.
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