A pin that might be a little too sharp to wear on an airplane now
July 9, 2012 1:16 PM

Can you help identify this old airline pin? It's an angular bird with a curved beak and blue markings on the tail, about the size of a normal airline "wings" pin, probably from the 1960s or earlier.

I found this pin in a box of travel mementos (tucked next to a Delta pin) saved by a family friend who died several years ago - she traveled internationally many times over a few decades.

I like the design, and I'm curious to learn more about it. There are no markings on the back. The bird seems to be a crane of some kind, but it doesn't look like a Lufthansa bird or other well-known airline bird logos. I can't find anything similar on eBay or pin collector websites. Any ideas? Thanks!
posted by dreamyshade to Clothing, Beauty, & Fashion (7 answers total) 1 user marked this as a favorite
I think it's Taca, now known as Grupo Taca.

Here's a link to a more modern pin.

They now have 5 birds/parots on their logo because they meged with 4 other airlines.

Here's another pin, jr. pilot's wings. Again, you can see one bird.
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 1:30 PM on July 9, 2012


It looks a bit like LOT. The forward swept wings and bulbous head are there. But I can't find an exact match.
posted by rocketpup at 1:35 PM on July 9, 2012


Is it LOT airlines?

I found this pin.
posted by JimmyJames at 1:55 PM on July 9, 2012


There's a museum inside San Francisco airport that focuses on aviation history of the Pacific/west coast. They might be able to help (or know of a specific airline history/artifacts group you could query).
posted by marylynn at 2:45 PM on July 9, 2012


Or better yet, spend a lot of time here.
posted by marylynn at 2:46 PM on July 9, 2012


Shoot off an email with the pix to the folks at stanwing.com (via marylynn's second link).
posted by likeso at 2:59 PM on July 9, 2012


Thanks, everyone! I sent an email to Stan of StanWing, and he kindly responded that he didn't recognize it, so it may or may not be an airline pin. The box contained train and cruise brochures as well. I'll keep looking around and update again if I find a solid match.
posted by dreamyshade at 10:09 AM on July 10, 2012


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