The legacy of NWA carries on through companies big and small and sometimes in novel ways. We are delighted to share these extended community connections! Recently we met Tim Haskin, an NWAHC Member who has started the gift site AirlineTimeMachine.com.
REFLECTIONS: What’s your experience in the airline industry? Did you work for NWA / predecessors?
Tim: I grew up in the northeast U.S., and had a lot of exposure to airlines like Mohawk, Empire, and Allegheny/USAir. By high school, I knew I wanted to work for an airline, and one with international routes in particular. Pan Am and TWA were going through rough times, but Northwest Orient, in far-off Minnesota, was a shining example of stability.
I was hired by Northwest for reservation sales in the spring of 1986, and after the 5-week training course at the MSP GO, I selected Cleveland for my first work assignment. Reservations was a wild ride during the merger activity that began in October of that year, and I transferred to MSP after the CLE reservations office was consolidated in ’87.
From there I worked in Inside Sales, then became a Sales Account Manager in Detroit, worked in sales administration back in MSP, spent time as the station manager in La Crosse, Wisconsin, then in ground ops sales in MSP for a total of 12 years with NWA. After Northwest, I had opportunities to work for Carlson Companies, Sun Country Airlines and AirTran, all in the Twin Cities area.
REF: And where has life led you now?
Tim: In 2005, I learned from a former NWA colleague about an opening with a small airline software company in New Mexico, that needed an account manager to cover their Northwest Airlines account from Minnesota.
I got the job, took on NWA as a customer, and was able to bring my airline experience into play in support of the company’s airline sales software product. A few years ago, that small company was acquired by Sabre out of Dallas, one of the world’s largest travel technology providers, and I reached my 15-year anniversary in travel software earlier this year!
REF: Tell us about your laser cutter and how your setup works! I see that you are set up as a make-to-order shop – but to turn orders quickly you need to have raw stock of acrylic sheets and cut maple, so you’re still dealing with inventory.
Tim: I’ve been a collector of airline and airliner memorabilia since I was a kid, and in early 2019 decided to try out Instagram as a social media outlet for my aviation interests. I came up with Airline Time Machine as an online name, and started posting about airline history. I was surprised by the number of people around the world that were interested, and have been fascinated by the stories and memories they’ve shared about their airline career experiences and adventures as passengers.
Building on that experience, I wanted to create a way for people to connect with past airlines by creating new products that featured airline logos that just can’t be found anywhere else. Late last year, I learned about Glowforge digital laser “printers” that are really very slick cutting, etching, and engraving tools. I bought a Glowforge machine, taught myself how to use Illustrator software for creating the designs I wanted to produce, then rolled out a small website to sell what I had made.
Because these items have a specific, limited audience, I make one example of each item, photograph that single example for the website, then cut each order “on demand” as they come in. That requires keeping a stock of raw materials on hand in my basement “factory”, but I work primarily with maple and cherry hardwood, and a half dozen colors of acrylic.
REF: What challenges did you have in developing this business and rolling out product? Certainly the side-lining of airliner shows this year has been a setback for many proprietors catering to enthusiasts, airline staff, and retirees.
Tim: There has been a lot of guesswork around which type of products to create, and which airline brands to feature. I know that folks aren’t eagerly visiting my website every day to see if I’ve added an item for the small, obscure airline they worked for in Idaho in the 1970s, so there’s a big dose of online promotion through social media (like Instagram and Facebook), and initial experiments with paid advertising, to promote new items.
One of my most popular products is crew-style luggage tags with past airline brands. That was suggested to me by a young pilot in Connecticut who follows my Instagram posts, and messaged me to see if I could create crew tags for his parents, who had been crew members for a small New England airline in the 1980s.
I was looking forward to hitting several of the airliner shows this year, but the rescheduling of those shows into 2021 has given me a good opportunity to build up my product catalog to get ready for them!
REF: How would you like to develop the business? Is this more of a side-line or do you see it being a full-time endeavor?
Tim: Today, this is definitely a passionate “after work” hobby for me, but I’m working to expand the products I offer, and to grow my reach to other aviation history fans.
Eventually, this could be a great focus for my post-retirement life, but that’s still a few years away. Until then, there are hundreds of additional departed airlines to feature, a century’s worth of notable aircraft to draw, and lots of new products ideas to try out!
