Airlines have handed out "kiddie wings" to child passengers since the 1930s and 1940s. Delta issued its first kiddie wings a little later—in 1958—but they quickly became a favorite flight souvenir and aviation collectible. Here's the list of kiddie wings issued by Delta.
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Before Wings
Delta's first official flight souvenir for children was this paper Junior Pilot Certificate. The same "junior pilot" certificate was handed out to both girls and boys on all Delta flights, beginning in 1950.
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First Kiddie Wings, 1958
The first Delta kiddie wings were issued on deluxe Royal Service first-class flights on Douglas DC-7s in 1958. Girls were presented with "Junior Stewardess" wings, while boys got the "Junior Pilot" wings. Paper certificates continued to be available for children on all other Delta flights.
The thin metal gold-colored wings feature the "Winged D" logo on a navy blue/gold foil decal attached to the front and a pin back. They were presented with a card.
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Jet Kiddie Wings, ca. 1959/1960
Kiddie wings were now handed out to all children on Delta's new Royal Jet Service flights, as well as the DC-7 Royal Service flights. Paper certificates continued to be available for children on all other flights.
The Jr. Captain and Jr. Stewardess wings feature a large Delta "widget" logo (originally the symbol of Royal Jet Service), with elongated lettering on a foil decal with a pin back. The wings were issued with a card.
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Jet Kiddie Wings Variation, 1960s
Sometime in the 1960s, the Jr. Captain and Jr. Stewardess kiddie wings were modified—the changes require a close look! The wings have a smaller Delta widget and the lettering was not elongated anymore.
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Jet Kiddie Wings Variation 2, late 1960s/early 1970s
No more foil decal—now the logo area on the pin was painted enamel.
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Plastic Wings, 1972/1973
Delta's kiddie wings made the switch from metal to plastic. They now featured a large red/blue Delta widget.
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Plastic Wings, 2000
Delta's second plastic wings pin appeared after the airline adopted the soft widget logo in March 2000.
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Kiddie Wings Label, 2002
"Stickers" replaced the pin back wings. Then, the stickers were phased out in the mid-2000s. Challenging recent years saw kiddie wings go on a hiatus at most U.S. airlines.
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Plastic Kiddie Wings, 2010
Delta kiddie wings are back! There are two varieties — a gold wings pin that a Delta pilot may give customers and a silver wings pin that will be given by flight attendants. Both plastic pin back wings feature the red Delta widget.
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