Brand
Where vintage & beauty go hand-in-hand.
It Started in Chi-Town
Airline's origins trace back to the Chicago area in the late 1950's. The parent company - Valco Manufacturing - also produced their flagship brand National and their budget brand Supro. Production of Airline guitars ceased in 1968 and we resurrected in 2001 by Canadian company, Eastwood Guitars.
Today, the original Valco guitars are played by a wide array of bands and artists including David Bowie, The Cure, PJ Harvey, and Calexico, as well as Jack White of The White Stripes. The originals are relative scarce in the guitar resale market and the original Res-O-Glas guitars (models made with fiberglass bodies) in excellent condition are known to sell for as much as $3,000 U.S.
The original guitars are no doubt worth having and enjoying, but as prices continue to climb and as the years pass by, they become both too expensive to own and too hard to play. Modern day Airline guitars far exceed their 60’s counterparts in playability, dependability and tone, yet still capture the look and vide of the originals.
True to Form
With ongoing investments in research and development we are committed to continually raising the level of their performance.
These are incredible, vintage-style guitars played by musicians all over the world, but they’re more than just a business for us, they’re a passion. That’s why every new Airline model we undertake captures the essence of the original, but with the playability and affordability you expect from a modern instrument. We want the avid music lover and the aspiring guitarist alike to enjoy each beautiful guitar as much as we do, which is why each of our Airline Guitars are set up professionally long before they’ve been shipped to our customers.