Virgin Atlantic brings back its often-stolen plane salt shakers

Business class passengers on Virgin Atlantic will be shaken, not stirred -- and once more welcome to steal the salt shakers -- as the airline brings back its popular and much-nicked plane-shaped salt and pepper set.

With "pinched from Virgin Atlantic" engraved under their little feet, the Wilbur and Orville set will return to replace the James Bond cocktail shaker version introduced just last year.

While the clever photography made them look weighty, the cocktail shaker style set were actually just as pocketably small as their predecessors.

And yes, they too were filched, despite (or perhaps because of) the "shaken not stirred" logo AusBT spotted underneath when we reviewed Virgin Atlantic's new Upper Class Dream Suite business class bed.

Read more: discover the story behind everything else on your business class meal tray — from designer cutlery & crockery to unspillable wine glasses!

No less a Virgin figure than big boss Richard Branson broke the news of the return of the "highly collectable" (Branson code for "yes, we know you're going to slip these in your bag") pair on his blog:

"Last year we blogged on whether it was the right thing for Virgin Atlantic to replace the loveable salt and pepper shakers with new designs. The overwhelming answer was no - and now Wilbur & Orville have made a comeback," Branson quipped.

"You'll find Wilbur & Orville in black in Upper Class and in shiny silver in Premium Economy."

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John Walton

Aviation journalist and travel columnist John took his first long-haul flight when he was eight weeks old and hasn't looked back since. Well, except when facing rearwards in business class.