Do you remember when airlines used to actually give bags to passengers? Neither do I. And the concept seems a bit curious. I mean, didn't you already have all your stuff packed into bags when you arrived for your flight?
At any rate, once upon a time, airlines did indeed give bags to passengers, usually in first- or business-class. You can still buy airline-branded bags for sale online. They might even make a cool holiday gift for travel buffs longing to relive the long-gone days of glamorous air travel.
* New Pan Am-brand bags are available from Panam.com. The TV show, which I stopped watching after two episodes due to its severe cheese quotient, has no doubt stirred interest in Pan Am merchandise. There are dozens of Pan Am bags for sale on this site. The bright white and blue bags don't particularly appeal to me, but I wouldn't balk if someone slipped the black Orion bag ($89), shown at right, under my Christmas tree.
* In Retro has about a dozen retro airline flight bag styles from Air China, Air India, Continental, KLM, and others. Prices listed are in pounds, so buyer beware.
* Virgin America, probably the only remaining domestic U.S. airline with style, sells two different Virgin-branded bags from its 'Swag Shop': the Rickshaw for Virgin America Messenger ($90) and the Rickshaw for Virgin America Weekender ($110). They're black (my favorite bag color) and have red interiors, so you can find stuff easily. And Virgin, which is based in San Francisco, says the bags are made in SF, too.
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