The founder of Pan American World Airways, Juan Trippe was credited with making commercial air travel over long distances a reality. Trippe launched Pan Am in 1927 and over the next 41 years oversaw the creation of an international air travel giant. Many "firsts" are credited to Pan Am: first regular service between the America and Asia (1935); the first regularly scheduled service to Europe from the US.(1939) and even the first airmail service internationally (1927). Much of Pan Am's success was due directly to Trippe's entrepreneurial instincts that allowed him to take full advantage of every opportunity to expand his company's reach.