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Souvenir Sunday: Amelia Earhart luggage

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Earlier this week, while waiting for Captain Chesley B. “Sully” Sullenberger’s presentation at the Museum of Flight in Seattle, I spent some time in the Amelia Earhart exhibit.  And while I don’t think I’ll take up flying my own plane anytime soon, I keep thinking about getting some new luggage.

Amelia Earhart endorsed a long list of products ranging from cars, cigarettes and clothing to what one press release described as nothing less than “the first truly practical and genuine airplane luggage.”

Earhart may have disappeared in 1937, but it appears a line of luggage bearing her name was produced well into the 1990’s.   And while I haven’t come upon anything from that line in the thrift stores near me, I did poke around the Museum of Flight gift shop to see if I could find something under $10 and “Amelia” for today’s Souvenir Sunday feature.

The only items that fit the bill were a few young adults books, including this one from the National Geographic Children’s Books series that includes photos, quotes from Earhart’s writings, theories about how she vanished, and maps of the route she followed on her last flight.

Capt. Sullenberger and Amelia Earhart at the Museum of Flight

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Monday evening I was fortunate to be in the audience at Seattle’s Museum of Flight for a  presentation by the recently retired Captain Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger, the now-legendary pilot of US Airways Flight 1549 who was able to successfully land a plane in New York City’s Hudson River.

He began the evening by showing the NTSB’s animated version of the US Airways 1549 flight path (below) and then went on to talk a bit about his family, his upbringing, his training as a pilot, the importance of preparation and teamwork, and his philosophy of work and life. After he was done, some of the kids in the audience got to ask a few questions as did some of the aviation geeks from our high-tech community.

(Here’s a link to a more detailed report on the evening by SeattlePI.com aerospace reporter Aubrey Cohen)

Before Captain Sullenberger’s speech, I spent some time in the Amelia Earhart exhibit, which will be at the museum until May, 2010. In addition to photo panels and film clips telling Ms. Earhart’s life story, there’s a section showing some of the products she endorsed to help pay the bills, including Amelia Earhart luggage and Lucky Strike cigarettes.

All in all, quite an inspiring evening.

Connection conundrum: SFO or LAX?

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If you’re traveling to or from New Zealand or Australia, you’ll have a make a connection in California at either LAX or SFO.

San Francisco would like you to make your connection through San Francisco International Airport (SFO) and has kicked off the “I Wanna Go Through SFO” campaign to urge folks to consciously make the choice to connect through SFO rather than LAX. The campaign includes this sort of cute video, which includes cameos by Mayor Gavin Newsom and the iconic SF Twins and lines like “…there’s the bad airport and then there’s San Franscisco International Airport.”

OK, LA. Let’s see what’s you’ve got!

Alaska Airlines unveils an Apolo Ohno plane

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Alaska Air Apolo Ono

Seattle is pretty proud of Apolo Anton Ohno, who began his speed-skating career here when he was just 14 and went on to win numerous world and national championships and five Olympic medals.  (Oh yeah, he was also on the Dancing with the Stars TV show.)

Now he’s getting ready for the 2010 Vancouver Olympics games.

To cheer him on, Alaska Airlines has painted one of its Boeing 737-800 with a giant image of Ohno and, during the unveiling yesterday at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, handed out Ohno trading card, copies of Ohno’s signature bandana, and press-on faux facial hair (in honor of Ohno’s infamous “soul patch.”) .

Sadly, I missed that gala event, but like everyone else I can now “Follow Apolo” on a special web site that will track his progress.

Alaska Airlines big OHNO

Tidbits for Travelers: Music at MIA, Power at SAN, celebrities at ORH

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MUSIC AT MIA

MIA

If you’re traveling through Miami International Airport (MIA) between now and September 21 and have some time to hang around, head on over to the South Terminal.  Afternoons, between 1 and 4 pm, there will be a steel drum band on Concourse H and piano music in the food court between Concourses H and J.

Power at SAN

SAN SOCKET

At San Diego International Airport (SAN), where there’s free Wi-Fi all the time,  there are now some new chairs with built-in electrical sockets in the Southwest Airlines boarding areas of Terminal 1 and upstairs, in Terminal 2 West.

Star power at ORH

And, according to this article, the mostly unused airport in Worcester, Massachusetts is going to be used to film some scenes for a movie starring Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz.  A great use for an empty airport!

Tom Cruise