Gin-filled model houses, rubber ducks and ashtrays: Inside the weird world of airline collectibles

From tiny ceramic houses to novelty rubber ducks, airlines are secretly gifting trinkets to their premium flyers

The Netherlands is known for its quaint, charming architecture – so it’s no wonder that the country’s flag carrier, KLM, uses it in its marketing. In fact, the airline has been gifting ceramic versions of famous Dutch buildings to business class passengers for 71 years – initially as a way to circumvent competition laws: the items are, thrillingly, filled with gin, allowing the company to classify them as “refreshment”, rather than “unfair commercial advantage”.
But these are far from the only collectibles available above the clouds. From playing cards to rubber ducks, there are plenty of in-cabin souvenirs with cult status.
Take those KLM ceramics. A whole range of buildings has been rendered in tiny form, from Rembrandt’s house in Amsterdam, to “Mata Hari’s love nest” in the Hague. They have real-life consequences, too – it’s rumoured that properties rendered in ceramic see in a surge in their real estate value.
The only official way to get one is by flying in business class on an intercontinental flight, with new models released on the KLM’s “birthday” every October. Some superfans are happy to accept these terms, heading from Amsterdam to Accra, Beijing or Chicago to be presented with the keepsakes. These can be logged in an official KLM app, while duplicates can be swapped at the KLM Lounge at Schipol Airport.
Other superfans, though, are less scrupulous. “Delft Blue Houses”, as they are known, are listed for sale across the internet for those looking to fast-track their collection. Current eBay listings include prices ranging from the reasonable £15 to £1,850 for a particularly rare model. A complete collection, meanwhile, is valued at the very precise £2,829.29.
KLM is not the only collectible club in the sky, however. Over the years, airlines have offered a whole host of weird and wonderful merchandise, some of which – like now-defunct Alitalia’s retro ashtrays, and PanAm’s badges, Christmas baubles and coasters – are now hotly sought after items on auction sites. Likewise, before the ubiquity of in-cabin screens, playing cards were a popular entertainment option, and produced by the likes of Qantas, featuring a plane flying into a sunset and a novelty kangaroo pattern, and Thai Airways, whose pack shows a smiling air hostess serving a drink.
Any airline worth its salt has also produced wings pins (again, PanAm’s smart vintage stewardess wings still go for a pretty penny), model planes and, of course, matchbooks. Air Berlin’s passengers, meanwhile, can collect the airline’s much-loved heart-shaped chocolates, which are made by Swiss chocolatier Lindt.
Hobbyists might also be interested in the offering from German airline Lufthansa, whose secret collection of tiny rubber ducks has a particularly devoted fan base – although their existence is rarely marketed officially.
The first duck was released in 2004, and a raft of special editions followed, from a bodybuilding bird to one decked out in lederhosen. A footballing duck marked the World Cup. A bride-and-groom pair was particularly popular. As for how guests can adopt a duck for themselves? They are available, specifically, in the first class lounges in Munich and Frankfurt, with the duck’s provenance detailed on each. Guests need to use the bathroom or the shower to receive one (or just ask the staff), and the Olympian, snowman, or cowboy duck could be theirs.
As with the Delft Blue Houses, frequent flyers use forums and blogs to share information about the newest rubber ducks, allowing them to stay abreast of new flock members. Certain ducks might be a limited edition (like the Porsche-driving duck), meaning travel plans might need to be changed to collect them. One blogger, Matthew Klint, chronicled his journey from Los Angeles to Frankfurt to get a masked-up, Covid-themed duck in 2021. He travelled directly to the airport to pick up the collectible, before immediately flying home.
A more elegant cabin favourite is Finnair’s Ultima Thule glasses. Designed by Tapio Wirkkala in 1969, ahead of the airline’s first flight to New York, the glistening highballs are intended to look like melting ice. They are, very occasionally, gifted to passengers. Unlike the ducks and the houses, however, these accessories can be purchased in Scandi design shops, meaning that the full Ultima Thule set could grace your dining table.
There is, of course, a whole separate market of items that aren’t given to guests, but are collected nonetheless. Seat covers, blankets, spoons, whole cutlery sets, and even lifejackets go missing from planes on a regular basis. If it isn’t bolted down, it will likely have been taken (and will likely have been resold on eBay at some point, too). Virgin Atlantic’s first class salt-and-pepper shakers, replete with cutesy cartoon feet, have become favourites, meaning they disappear at an exceptional rate. Engraved on their base is a message from the airline – “pinched from Virgin Atlantic”.