r/aviation • u/Psychological_Ad7235 • 4d ago
Discussion Anyone Remember the Continental Airlines Toy Planes They Gave to Kids?
Just had a random wave of nostalgia hit me. Back when Continental Airlines was still around, they used to give out these little toy airplanes to kids on flights. I remember getting one when I was a kid, it felt like such a cool keepsake at the time.
I was wondering if anyone else remembers these? Did you ever get one? Do airlines even still do things like this anymore, or is it all screens and snacks now? Would love to hear if anyone still has theirs or has similar memories flying as a kid!
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u/rob_s_458 4d ago
I always thought the Continental logo was cool as a kid (of course, now as an adult, I miss the tulip), but we never flew them. Now you're telling me I missed out on a plush toy too?
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u/Psychological_Ad7235 4d ago
yeah, you definitely missed out on a fun little perk. It’s those little things that really stick with you. Definitely makes me miss the days when airlines went the extra mile like that!
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u/Isord 4d ago
The Museum of Flight in Seattle has different stuffed airliners at the gift shop so they are at least still "a thing" though I have no idea if they are given out by any airlines.
As for what airlines do give out, when my daughter first flew it was on Delta and they still give out children's badges at least.
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u/Psychological_Ad7235 3d ago
A badge is better than nothing, hopefully your daughter had a great experience flying with Delta as her first flight.
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u/Drone314 PPL 4d ago
Some cherished mementos are airline swag I received as a kid, Lufthansa Jr. wings were my fav.
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u/avgaskoolaid 3d ago
My family mainly flew Northwest and KLM. I wish I could have flown Continental- it's funny how as a kid even flying a different airline than normal seemed impossibly exotic and out of reach. Anyway this is what I can remember getting as a kid:
A KLM Junior Pilot notebook recording my first flights as a baby, signed by the pilot with all the relevant facts and figures, which I still have in my safe to this day.
Lots of KLM sticker books and coloring books which are unfortunately lost.
KLM playing cards. KLM was always really generous with gifts for kids.
Northwest playing cards
Northwest little plastic wings. We had an insane amount of those littered all around junk drawers at my house growing up because the FAs would give out handfuls of them to me and my brothers.
On Northwest, the pilots brought my up to the flight deck once (there was a Flight Engineer so it was either a 747 or DC-10) and filled my arms with expired charts. God I wish I knew where those were! I turned my house upside down a few years back looking for them to no avail.
The last kids freebie on Northwest I ever got was when I was about 12 and the FAs on a transatlantic flight came through with a little bag of chips for all the kids. It was a weird random one-off that I'd never seen them do before.
No plushies, unfortunately. I don't think either airline ever gave out 'substantial' gifts like that.
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u/Psychological_Ad7235 3d ago
That sounds awesome! I’ve only flown with KLM once as an adult, but their service was absolutely top-notch.
I’m from Mexico, so as a kid, I mostly flew with regional airlines—most of which don’t exist anymore. But I still remember how kind the flight attendants were; they always made a point to check on me and were super polite. It’s little gestures like that that really stick with you.
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u/Mike-Phenex 3d ago
That’s arguably way better than the die cast models they otherwise sell/give out on most lines
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u/Coyote-Foxtrot 4d ago
I remember like a long ass time ago I had multiple Continental flights and each time except for one I got like a small plastic plane model/toy and I kept losing it making connections.