The disappearance of Caledonian Airways from the skies over Britain after almost 40 years of flying will create an interesting headache for JMC management when they take over the brand.
There are ‘anorak’ collectors out there who will go to great lengths to get hold of a piece of aviation history when the Caledonian name finally disappears in March 2000.
Branded cutlery, signage, check-in desks, ticket wallets, uniforms, and even Caledonian bagpipers, will be much-sought after.
Judging by past experiences, collectable airline items can eventually fetch a lucrative sum in years to come.
Airlines either dump or sell their wares, but Caledonian has not really given the issue any thought.
When posed with the question by Backchat about what will happen to these likely collectables and potential valuables, particularly with the increased risk of items being stolen in-flight, Caledonian simply had no answer.
“An interesting thought,” said a spokesman. “We haven’t given it much thought, but yes, it certainly does pose a few questions. We’ll have to start getting our thinking hats on.”
One aviation buff revealed how the demise of US carrier Piedmont Airways many years ago saw a station manager pack away an array of airline-branded products which otherwise would have been thrown away, only to make a fortune later by selling them at fairs around the world.
So everyone at JMC, its time to get your thinking hats on and sort out a big Sunday morning-style aircraft hold sale at Gatwick.
And while you are at it, you might as well make the sale even bigger and chuck in all the redundant Flying Colours items.