Lynn & Ed Hogan
Founders of Pleasant Travel Service
 In 1959, Lynn and Ed Hogan opened their first retail travel agency, Pleasant Travel Service. Today, the company, now known as Pleasant Holidays, is one of the largest privately owned travel companies in the world.After serving in the Navy, Ed Hogan earned his commercial pilot’s license and became a pilot for Sky Coach. He later joined Transocean Air Lines, which became the first tourist flight operation to Hawaii. Lynn Hogan received a bachelor’s degree in graphic arts from the Pratt Art Institute in Brooklyn and, after a stint at a New Jersey advertising agency, became an airline stewardess. Ed and Lynn were married in 1951, and she then worked as an artist for Walt Disney Studios in Burbank. The Hogans’ travel agency grew steadily in the 1960s. In the 1970s, Pleasant Travel began a large-scale charter operation to Hawaii from the West Coast, eventually securing contracts with major airlines and rental-car companies for travel to Hawaii. In the 1990s, the company began offering vacations in Mexico, and then Asia and Europe. The Hogans founded the Hogan Family Foundation in 1998 to support educational, humanitarian and civic programs. That same year, Pleasant Holidays, LLC, was created with all of the profits being donated to the Foundation. They also established the Hogan Angel Flight Fund in 1999, which provides airline tickets to patients needing treatment. The Hogans have received numerous awards through their illustrious careers. In 2000, Travel Agent Magazine recognized them as travel industry leaders. Ed has also received the Executive of the Year award by Executive Magazine, the couple has been inducted into the ASTA World Travel Hall of Fame, and Ed was an inductee into the Travel Industry Hall of Leaders. One of Ed’s most prized awards was being named “Mr. Tourism Hawaii” by the state’s Senate after Pleasant Holidays sent its 2-millionth visitor to the islands. The Hogans reside in California. |