Airline trading card
An airline trading card is a type of trading card depicting a commercial airplane[a] that is offered by an airline. Generally, it is used to promote interaction with airline crew because it can only be given out by a pilot. Several airlines offer trading cards, such as Southwest, Delta, Frontier, United, American, and Alaska Airlines.[1][2][3][4][5]
Examples
Delta Air Lines
Delta Air Lines offers airplane trading cards of all of the plane types in its fleet; several customers have collected all 68. Ryan Gumm, the Senior Vice President of flight operations for Delta, reported that in 2024 over 3 million cards were distributed, saying that "this simple, yet impactful interaction between our pilots and customers elevates and enriches the flight experience – and has created meaningful connections and memorable moments along the way."[6] The only instance in which Delta trading cards were not directly given by pilots was when the airline celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2025, and customers were able to get a two-card commemorative set upon purchasing a gift card.[2]
Spirit Airlines
Spirit Airlines was one of the most recent airlines to introduce a trading card, doing so in February 2026.[7] They depicted Spirit's Airbus aircraft. Spirit previously had digital trading cards.
Alaska Airlines
Alaska Airlines trading cards were first produced and offered in the 1990s; this continued after their merging with Hawaiian Airlines.[3]
Hawaiian Airlines
Hawaiian Airlines only debuted trading cards following their merging with Alaska Airlines, in November 2025.[8][9] Digital trading cards are available by scanning a QR code in the placard of an aircraft. Hawaiian uniquely offers another commemorative souvenir, "keiki" or "children's wings", badges resembling pilot's wings with the Hawaiian airline logo and the words "Future Pilot".
Frontier Airlines
Uniquely, Frontier Airlines' trading cards display cartoon characters instead of airplanes, such as Griz the Bear, Otto the Owl, and Flo the Flamingo.[4]
Southwest Airlines
Southwest Airlines also offers trading cards; the most common trading card is of the "Heart One" livery, the livery used on most Southwest planes.[5] Cards depict an image of the plane on the front and back, and on the back is information about the aircraft.
American Airlines
American Airlines just recently unveiled a centennial-themed set of airline trading cards to celebrate 100 years of service. [10]
References
- ↑ Vieau, Jasmine. "4 Airlines With Secret Trading Cards (And How To Score One!)". OnlyInYourState®. Retrieved 2026-03-29.
- 1 2 Writer, Staff (2025-03-25). "Unveiling Delta's 2025 trading card series: Celebrating a century of flight | Delta News Hub". news.delta.com. Retrieved 2026-03-29.
- 1 2 Villegas, Marissa (2025-04-26). "New Alaska Airlines trading cards take flight this World Pilots' Day". Alaska Airlines, Hawaiian Airlines and Horizon Air. Retrieved 2026-03-29.
- 1 2 "Family & Pets". Frontier Airlines. Archived from the original on 2026-03-03. Retrieved 2026-03-29.
- 1 2 "Southwest® Trading Cards | Collect Heart One & More". Southwest Airlines. Retrieved 2026-03-29.
- ↑ Fox, Derick. "Delta Air Lines drops new set of pilot trading cards: How to get yours". News Nation.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Spirit Introduces Trading Cards | AirlineGeeks.com". airlinegeeks.com. 2026-02-04. Retrieved 2026-03-29.
- ↑ "Hawaiian Debuts Trading Cards | AirlineGeeks.com". airlinegeeks.com. 2025-11-12. Retrieved 2026-03-29.
- ↑ Staff, H. N. N. (2025-11-12). "Hawaiian Airlines pilots introduce trading cards to promote aviation". Hawaii News Now. Retrieved 2026-03-29.
- ↑ "Cleared to collect: American unveils centennial-themed trading cards". news.aa.com. Retrieved 2026-05-04.
Notes
- ↑ With the exception of Frontier Airlines trading cards, which depict cartoon characters.