Ever received a bonafide souvenir of your flight from the airline?
 

Just wondering if you ever received a bonafide souvenir of a flight?

By bonafide souvenir, I mean not an amenity kit, menu, bottle of wine or champagne, or pilfered items such as a pillow, blanket, cutlery, glassware or other service items. I'm talking about things like the following:

On a KLM flight in business class, I received a cute porcelain replica of an Old Dutch House, filled with liquor, as a memento of flying with KLM, and in the early 80s, I received an "Inaugural Flight Certificate" from Pan Am, to commemorate the resumption of service between ORD and JFK, as I happened to by a pax on that first flight.

A friend of mine received a certificate commemorating crossing the international dateline from Continental, who, years ago, used to fly HNL to SYD/MEL, and another friend received a music CD from an Asian carrier (can't remember which one). Someone wrote in a different recent thread that he/she received a "thank you" type of certificate from Air France (I think), that was signed by the entire flight crew, including the pilots.

Have you received anything similar? What was it? Which class was flown? How long ago?

I'm wondering if such mementos/souvenirs were things done yesteryear, or if any carriers are still doing it. I'm quite curious, and will appreciate any/all responses!

A friend of my Dad traveled around the world in the '50's, and sent all sorts of photos and small items. My sister and I each have a fan from Japan Air Lines (gold letters on back of fan appear to spell it like that). Box says "Juni-Hitoe", indicating ceremonial robes of Japanese court ladies, mentioning Heian Period. (short version of writing).

I have had this since around 1956. Box has suffered greatly, but the fan is perfect. Have always meant to have it framed, though now I am glad I didn't. We have always thought they were given out as souvenirs of the flight. Would not be surprised if my love of Japanese art and fans in general came from this childhood treasure.

http://www.imagestation.com/4592222/4183125209
http://www.imagestation.com/4592222/4183131218 (technically I was mailed this after the flight as they'd not stocked any on my flight)

How about things from a flight I didn't go on? :D
http://www.imagestation.com/album/pi...?id=4287443727
The souvenirs in the above albums were given to me by a Concorde pilot in our village. When I was 11yrs old I was given a book about Concorde and we asked if the chap could take it to New York and get it signed by the crew. He did that and gave me all the stuff shown in that album, and it got me all interested in the plane and eventually to fly from London to new York on the aircraft itself. Now that Concorde is well retired I treasure my items. :)

What about those 'airline bags'
 

At age 39 11/12ths I'm too young to have one, but one thing I've often wondered about is those 'airline bags' i.e.

http://www.ashleyb.org/images/Pan_Am.jpg

How did you get one? Did everyone get one? Or just first class? or?

I think there was a Wardair one kicking around my parent's house for years.

Just wondering...

Cheers,
Geoff Glave
Vancouver, Canada

Those airline bags
 

Thanks for the post Geoff! I have a couple of those from TWA, and both were not obtained in-flight as a souvenir.

The Red One (with white TWA logo) was purchased at a TWA city ticket office in Chicago. The other one I received from TWA vacations, as a premium for purchasing a package to Hawaii in 1987. That one is beige with a red TWA logo.

That 1987 trip to Hawaii was memorable. I recall for only $100 r/t, you could upgrade your airfare on that vacation package to "Ambassador Class" (business class), which is what I did. An outstanding flight STL-HNL on a 747. I believe it was my first experience in business class. Had I paid $200, I could have upgraded to premium first class. Those were the days! :)

World's longest flight certificates from SIN-LAX, LAX-SIN and new ones when SIN-EWR became the longest and EWR-SIN of course.

On the inaugural SIN-LAX and LAX-SIN a little commemorative Selangor pewter thingy, and on the inaugural SIN-EWR and EWR-SIN a much bigger commemorative Selangor pewter thingy.

Check out my trip report Some FTers Do the Inaugural Worlds Longest Flight SIN-EWR vv 28 June 2004.

Business class, Emirates, LHR-DXB, November, 1992 - china box, about 4" across, with one of the birds of the country on the lid.

TWA, various flights - desk kit in a zip up bag; collapsible bag that folds into size of a paperback book (still have it) - TWA gave amenity kits on overnight flights and a gift on the day flights. Commemorative mug as passsenger on first TWA 767 to fly out of San Diego.

I got a little toy metal airplane on China Eastern Airlines on a flight from Lijiang to Kunming in Summer 1998. Gave it to a friend's kid when I got back from my RTW trip.

Years ago SAA used to hand out a little gift/memento to passengers in F. On various occasions I got a rather boring classical mix cd and several rather charming glass animal figurines from Ngwenya Glass.

I also have had a few of the KLM huisjes. It's one of the more endearing aspects of the airline.

A SQ FA randomly gave me a pack of cards once, too.

SU once gave me dysentery. That was rather less pleasant.

The aforementioned SIN-EWR certificate. The passenger behind me on Concorde asked if they had any eggcups (he was a collector). They didn't, but wrote eggcup in market on the side of a teacup instead and gave that to him. :D

I've had playing cards from SQ too and CX like giving me pens when I do an inflight survey (and sent me some cufflinks once which was nicer).

I flew in J on Garuda to AMs from DPS and got a small piece of Delft pottery. This was about 15 years ago though.

make it 3 for the klm delft houses. just looked at them recently. really nice.

i don't think these are what you have in mind, but i still really like the bogner sweaters from lufthansa. more so than the weird singapore pajamas which i never use.

Once upon a time a FA gave me a left unopend champagne bottle, that I could take away. Was very surprised !!

Airline gifts are really something from the old days, when they were more widespread - so much so that IATA had specific regulations about them (cost, etc).

Certainly up there with the best known are the KLM porcelain houses, so many accounts of collecting the range, there are even collectors societies. They were giving these out back in the 1950s.

The most retained gifts would appear to be the souveniers given out in Concorde.

Wardair, a Canadian charter operator that operated in the 1960s-1980s, always gave out flight bags. They were very well made, a number of people I know who travelled with them 20 or 30 years ago still have one - as I do.