Most first class passengers on board Virgin Atlantic seem to have one thing in common: they love the classic airplane-shaped salt and pepper shakers. In fact, they love them so much they can’t help but pocket them.
They’ve become the “must-steal” item for flyers since they were introduced 12 years ago, and individual pieces have been known to sell for up to 20 GBP each on eBay...seriously. Do you think this was someone's “get rich” scheme in the first place? Stealing salt and pepper shakers to resell on eBay to build an empire and earn more first class flights?
Brilliant. But who can blame them, they're adorable.
Virgin Atlantic even stamped the shakers with “Pinched from Virgin Atlantic,” but it didn’t seem to discourage anyone.
The whole thing leaves us wondering what exactly does it mean to steal from an airline? Are we allowed to remove pillows and blankets? Can we make hats and scarves out of them? Is there a certain etiquette guide we should be following which dictates the laws of flying?
Perhaps Virgin Atlantic should have taken a cue from the three anonymous hotels in Honolulu, Miami and Manhattan who have recently started using micro chips in their bathrobes and linens to prevent people from stealing them.
