There was a time before airlines became nickel-and-dimers that try to squeeze every penny out of their customers. Flying was fancy and enjoyable, so some airlines would hand out postcards of planes in their fleet so passengers could tell friends and family about their experience after a flight.
As a teenager, I collected postcards like these. My cousin, who introduced me to this hobby, and I would write to the airline headquarters or visit their city offices to ask for postcards. A few times, we sneaked into the office area at Frankfurt Airport and went door to door. Usually, people were friendly and happy to give us some merchandise.
There were also other sources. Many airport souvenir shops sold postcards of airplanes, and there was even a mail-order store in Connecticut that specialized in these postcards.
We weren’t the only ones. We spent days at Hamburg Airport trading postcards with other kids. Those days are gone, but there are still many aviation enthusiasts around. So, ten years ago, I took the time to scan my 400+ card collection and posted them on Tumblr.