Virgin America Shoes: The Strange Bedfellows of Airlines and Retail

by Paul Thompson
Last updated: 12:00 PM ET, Tue October 25, 2016

that are made from old seat fabric. Some other Southwest leather was donated to a leather works' training course at a boarding school in Malawi. The Southwest leather is navy and tan, and was used on their planes from 2001 to 2014, but can still be seen on some of their older Boeing 737-300 planes that will be retired soon.[READMORE]READ MORE: <a href="http://www.travelpulse.com/news/impacting-travel/virgin-s-richard-branson-weighs-in-on-us-elections.html" target="_self">Virgin's Richard Branson Weighs in on US Elections</a>[/READMORE]Anything that used to be on a plane is popular among die-hard travelers and those who are into aviation nostalgia. <a href="https://www.deltamuseum.org/events/events/2016/07/08/default-calendar/surplus-sale">Delta's Flight Museum</a> has an annual sale of retired seats and galley carts each summer in Atlanta. Aircraft salvagers have also made businesses out of making things from scrapped planes. For example, <a href="https://www.etsy.com/shop/WyldebyrdArt">Wyldebyrd Art</a> is an Etsy store where you can buy home decor and furniture items made from planes including WWII-era C-47 transports, and Boeing 737s.Several airlines also have online stores where you can purchase dozens if not hundreds of branded items if you're a hard-core aviation geek. Among those are <a href="http://companystore.alaskaair.com/asqxcompanystore">Alaska</a>, <a href="http://store.crsmithmuseum.org/store/">American</a>, <a href="https://www.deltashop.com/">Delta</a>, <a href="https://www.southwestthestore.com/">Southwest</a>, <a href="https://unitedshop.summitmg.com/unitedshopr/default.asp">United</a>, and <a href="http://blog.virginamerica.com/blog/tag/shop/">Virgin America</a>. Enthusiasts can also find vintage collectibles from most airlines on eBay and at collectibles shows around the country, such as <a href="http://airlinersinternational.org/">Airliners International</a>.