American Airlines pilots will finally be able to offer airplane trading cards to passengers, though it’s proving to be a bit controversial.
American pilots now have access to airplane trading cards
Airlines try to create brand loyal customers (or so they claim), and also like to encourage people to be aviation geeks, so it’s common for airlines to give their pilots airplane trading cards. The idea is that passengers can ask for these trading cards, and then they typically feature the aircraft being flown, so that passengers can collect different cards.
It seems the general popularity of airplane trading cards has increased massively in recent times, perhaps thanks to social media, and the number of people posting online about them. For example, while Delta has had trading cards going as far back as 2003, the number of times they’re being requested has hugely increased.
Heck, Spirit even recently invested in rolling out trading cards, to give you a sense of how this is being viewed as non-negotiable by some airlines.
American has been the exception among major airlines by not having these, but that has finally changed, as flagged by PYOK. However, it’s not the airline rolling this out, but instead, the Allied Pilots Association (APA), the union representing pilots.
The APA describes this initiative as being intended to “enhance the experience of our passengers,” and there are at least four types of cards, covering different planes in the fleet. The cards have union branding, rather than airline branding (though they do show pictures of aircraft in their full liveries). Of course it’ll be up to pilots to actually pick these up from bases and bring them onboard, to distribute to passengers.
Now, I can’t help but be curious if there’s a QR code on the back of these cards leading to a certain website, as one wonders what the real motive here is. 😉 We have seen American’s pilot union be (understandably) very frustrated with management, and they’ve promised to take their displeasure “to all American stakeholders.” Could this be part of that plan?
As you might expect, pilots are conflicted on this
Interestingly, the union rolling out this initiative is getting mixed reactions from pilots on social media. Some are coming out in favor of this, with one pilot saying “thank goodness,” and “there is nothing I hate saying more than, ‘sorry, kid, I don’t have any.’”
Other pilots are less pleased with this initiative, with the most common complaint being along the lines of “my dues at work.” Another pilot comments “while I like the idea of AA providing something resembling a decent product for our customers, and trading cards would be cool, not sure I’m excited to be spending union dues money on this.”
Another person comments “so your union will pay for them but your company won’t,” and “no wonder AA is doing so well.”
Honestly, it does seem pretty low that this is being funded by the union rather than by the airline, and I think it gets at part of American’s bigger cultural issue. If you’re a customer focused airline, you encourage interactions like this. When Delta put out press releases about trading cards, it even emphasized how the interaction between pilots and customers can be “impactful” and “elevates and enriches the flight experience.”
I think Delta is exactly right here, and that’s part of the issue with American’s culture. The airline doesn’t put enough effort into understanding the importance of positive interactions with frontline employees, and how they impact the perception that passengers walk away with.
Bottom line
American pilots now have access to airplane trading cards, but this is being offered through the union, and not through the airline. So I wouldn’t necessarily expect for these to be as available as on other airlines, where the company as such is paying for it.
Pilots are conflicted on this new initiative. While some are happy to finally be able to give out trading cards, more seem to be unhappy that their union dues are paying for this.
What do you make of American’s pilot union rolling out trading cards?
