The Stewards of the Earth

This article is not part of Vekllei canon. It may be old, obsolete or just a bit of fun.

Overview #

Although Vekllei’s flag-carrying airline might appear just one of many in the small island country, don’t be fooled — all civilian aviation operates under a venrouive bureau excitingly titled the Vekllei Air Service (Skyburo), which operates several distinct ‘airlines’ but wholly controls all of them. In Vekllei economic lexicon, a bureau is the largest trade union of an industry, made up of many hundreds of others, and is partially beholden to the direction of government.

This makes the Skyburo a ‘public airline,’ but is not government owned in the way the rest of the world might understand it. Vekllei segregates business only along personal and public lines, with the political organs of the country largely segregated from daily affairs.

Illustrated here for your viewing pleasure are the largest of Vekllei’s ‘airlines,’ represented by their stewards in uniform.

Vekllei Air Service #

The Vekllei Air Service is Vekllei’s domestic airline, and operates within the country as well as to Vekllei’s semiautonomous Atlantic possessions like Greenland, the Faroe Islands, and the Azores. The fleet are mostly twin or tri-engined nuclear jets. Vekllei has a comprehensive rail network, and the domestic VAS is mostly used to ferry people between Vekllei’s various islands.

The Domestic Office #

The Domestic Office is an unusual organisation largely responsible for unusual or unique aircraft that require specific training to command. These include sea planes, dirigible airships, helijets and so on. Their navy and white uniforms are remarkably simple, even spartan, and are the last remaining legacy of private commercial aviation in Vekllei’s pre-war years. There was not much money for uniforms then, and they carry on in this humble tradition today.

Vekllei Overseas Airways #

Vekllei Overseas Airways is the international flag-carrier of the country, and compete with the likes of Pan-Am and BOAC. Their uniforms are the public face of Vekllei for many foreigners, and so they reflect both the dignity of the island nation and the high price required of foreigners for travel on the national carrier. It is customary to receive a bottle of Montre wine with a ticket. They also employ capes on male and female stewards, but they must be removed on the tarmac. They operate ‘flying wings’, large jets and a handful of airships called sky liners.

The Special Charter Service #

The Special Charter Service is an unusual branch of the Skyburo, and is usually regarded as a government airline. Although civilian, it coordinates closely with Vekllei’s military and intelligence services to assist in moving personnel, and also would be responsible for evacuating Vekllei tourists in the event of an incident overseas or at home. Day-to-day, it operates only a few scheduled flights, with the bulk of its flight-hours spent operating charter services for bureaus and personal business alike. They wear uniforms styled after Vekllei cultural dress, which predates even the old regime and is a strong part of the national identity.