Pre-boarding procedures at Gate B14 in Dallas/Fort Worth’s Terminal B, which most travelers consider to be pointless, have recently taken on a new twist. Passengers waiting to board American Airlines flights have been observed asking gate attendants a somewhat different inquiry than usual: whether the pilots have any cards left.
This query has nothing to do with the availability of overhead bins or the status of upgrades. First-come, first-served collectible aircraft trading cards will be given out by flight crew as part of the airline’s 100th anniversary celebration. There will be seven million of them. Nevertheless, there seems to be a constant sense that the supply is about to run out.
Eight aircraft in two categories are covered by the program. The A321neo, 737-800, 777-300ER, and 787-9, which are American’s mainline workhorses and the aircraft now performing the majority of the flying, are shown on the fleet cards.
The DC-3, which carried passengers in the 1930s and helped define what commercial aviation could look like; the 707-123, American’s first commercial jet and the aircraft that propelled the airline into the modern era; and the MD-80, which flew so many routes for so many years that a generation of frequent flyers will always remember the unique sound of those rear-mounted engines. The historical choices are well-considered. It’s obvious that someone took the time to choose an airplane that would feel significant rather than merely symbolic.
The program’s unique energy has come from the mechanics of actually obtaining one. The pilot must be consulted. The captain, who carries a personal supply and distributes it at their discretion, preferably during boarding or after the aircraft has landed, is not the gate agent or the flight attendant. Whether on purpose or not, this layout is a combination of practicality and genuinely clever design.
Every card becomes somewhat earned as a result. You must look for it, gently approach the cockpit, and acknowledge that the answer may be that they’ve run out. The mechanics that tend to create the kind of attachment that makes individuals care about what they’re holding are manufactured scarcity and a brief social engagement for a collected object.
The secondary market arrived swiftly, as was to be expected. Within days after the program’s inception, cards started to emerge on eBay, with both individual cards and partial sets sold above face value. However, “face value” is a technical phrase for something that is given out for free.
Since not every flight carries every card type and not every pilot has restocked, assembling the entire run necessitates either a lot of flying or a willingness to pay someone else’s travel luck premium on a resale site. Complete sets of all eight cards are the obvious collector aim. The fact that the cards are reaching those who genuinely want them rather than merely those who are dimly aware of their existence is a helpful indication of the secondary market activity.
It’s difficult to ignore the fact that this centennial promotion is more intriguing than most airlines’ offerings. By Tuesday, a new logo and a press release would have been forgotten. It’s a program that’s meant to be discussed, and it’s being discussed. It’s a physical object that requires you to interact with a pilot, comes in eight variations, and appears in small quantities on various flights.
It’s actually uncertain if American will continue it after the centennial year or if a subsequent program will expand on the formula. For now, somewhere across the Atlantic, the Rockies, or the Gulf of Mexico, a traveler is packing a 787-9 card in their carry-on along with a boarding permit they will most likely discard, saving the card for an unknown reason.
