Hawaiian Airlines Merch Is Vanishing And Something Surprising Is Taking Its Place

We did not think much about it at first when a Hawaiian flight attendant reached into her pocket and offered us a pair of Hawaiian Airlines wings and a 717 pilot trading card last week. It felt warm and spontaneous, the kind of small moment that has been part of flying Hawaiian for years.

She smiled when we said we loved the airline and told us she had just a few left. The wings had that familiar brushed silver look. The card felt like a throwback to another era, albeit a new one. Then she said something that stayed with us. That is, crew members have been trying to collect whatever old Hawaiian items still exist before they disappear for good. Later, that small exchange kept replaying in our minds, not because of what she handed us but because of what it represented.

Flight attendants are handing forward their own tradition.

Hawaiian flight attendants have handed out wings and other merch for generations. Kids collected them, and adults secretly hoped to get them too. The wings never felt transactional. They came from a place of pride and culture within the crew. Receiving a pair always felt like being welcomed into something local, even if it was only for a moment in the aisle.

What struck us now is how visible that tradition feels again. Crew members understand that people want something to hold onto now, even if no one says it directly. They told us that they, too, are holding onto things for themselves. Some are collecting old Hawaiian pins, tags, shirts, playing cards, and anything that still carries the original Hawaiian Air identity. A pilot card tucked in with the wings feels like a small piece of history being passed forward. These gestures come from the people who have carried the culture of Hawaiian for decades. They speak for themselves without needing any explanation.

Travelers are keeping anything Hawaiian branded.

Once you start noticing, you see this same feeling taking shape all around you. We saw a man boarding with a well-worn Hawaiian Airlines shirt from at least two or three branding cycles ago. Someone else had clipped older wings to their backpack. A woman near us said she put her last 717 boarding pass in a keepsake box at home before HA changed to AS. These were everyday items at one time. Now people are treating them with more intention.

Here at Beat of Hawaii, we have t-shirts from the Hawaiian Airlines’ New York launch and sponsorship of the Liberty Cup in NYC. Rob also noticed at the gym recently that members were wearing Hawaiian Airlines’ hoodies.

It is not dramatic or sentimental for the sake of being sentimental. It is a natural response to watching something familiar begin to begin to shift. People want to keep the pieces they can. They are not waiting for anything specific to happen. Rather, they are doing it now, quietly and without ceremony.

Something new and unexpected is happening online.

At the same time, something very different is happening on the internet. Open Amazon or eBay and you will find an explosion of Hawaiian Airlines branded items the airline never created. Some shirts look almost official. Others use colors and artwork the airline never touched. There are mugs, hoodies, tote bags, and Pualani graphics that feel familiar and unfamiliar at the same time.

This is what happens when people search for pieces of a brand they feel connected to. Sellers step in to fill the space. It is not a replacement for the real wings or the real pilot cards being handed out on planes. It is simply what appears when a respected brand becomes new emotional territory. The real and the improvised Hawaiian merch now sit side by side because the demand is there for both.

The resale market confirms what Hawaii travelers are already doing.

Even a quick look at eBay tells us the story. Some pilot trading card sets are selling for $16. A rarer set sits closer to $200. Older wings from past uniform eras are being sold too. Retired crew shirts appear. Vintage Hawaiian travel bags from the 90s are listed and relisted. Even old livery safety cards have bidders.

None of this creates the sentiment. Rather, it mirrors it. The online listings are a digital echo of something emotional and human happening in real time. People want to hold onto the airline they knew, and the market reflects that feeling back to them.

Hawaiian Airlines has long been more than an airline for many travelers.

The memories tied to Hawaiian go far beyond an airline brand or aircraft livery. The airline has been part of life in the islands for longer than anyone remembers. For so many travelers, it has been the backdrop for first Hawaii trips, family milestones, and for us residents, the comfort of knowing we are returning home. That feeling shows up in the items people are now saving. Boarding passes folded carefully. Amenity kits tucked away. Shirts kept longer than expected.

These are small reminders of flights that actually meant something extra. From a time when airlines were more than mere transportation. They did not feel like keepsakes at the time, but they sure do now. People, both travelers and Hawaiian employees alike, are choosing to hold onto them while they still can.

These small moments still feel like the old Hawaiian.

What stayed with us from last week’s flight was the way the wings were offered. There was no speech, no comment about the airline or its future under Alaska’s ownership. Just a warm gesture from someone who also understood the same meaning. The wings said everything. The pilot card said everything. These were not items being cleared out. They were part of a living tradition still being handed directly to the next person.

There will be more unofficial merch online and more unusual items appearing in search results. There will also be more people quietly looking through past flight memorabilia and then keeping the small pieces of Hawaiian that still feel like the airline they have known for so long. Each one carries its own story, and together they show how people respond when something familiar begins to shift.

Somewhere in your home, there is probably a drawer with a Hawaiian Airlines item you kept without thinking much about it at the time. Maybe it is from your first trip, or maybe from yesterday.

What Hawaiian Airlines’ item is still in your drawer?