Some airline pilots carry plane trading cards — here’s how to get one

• Many people have learned through viral social media posts that Delta Air Lines and Frontier Airlines' aircraft trading cards.
• Delta told Business Insider the program was created to share a passion for aviation with customers.
• Wider knowledge of the program could cause issues for flight crew.

Many people are finding out about aircraft trading cards from viral social media posts, but some enthusiasts have collected them for years.

A viral TikTok from Monday showed a man securing his first trading card from a Delta Air Lines pilot, and many of the 14.5 million viewers were surprised to learn of their existence.

A Delta spokesperson told Business Insider that the trading cards are exclusive to its pilots and are a way for them to inspire a passion for aviation and loyalty to the airline.

Delta has created six total trading card collections since the program started over 20 years ago with each featuring a different aircraft in the company's fleet corresponding to the type of plane each pilot flies, the spokesperson said.

The cards are redesigned every five years to give them a refreshed look, a spokesperson told BI. The pilot group even voted on the current collection's final look, which went live with 11 unique cards in October 2022.

The cards handed out to intrigued children for free are worth some money, with individual cards selling on Ebay for varying amounts.

If you're looking to begin collecting these unique cards, all you have to do is ask the pilot next time you're boarding a Delta flight. The card you receive should have fun facts about the aircraft model you're taking to your destination.

"When they're not busy preparing for flight or flying our customers to their next adventure, our pilots carrying these fan-favorite cards are more than happy to hand one out to any customer that asks nicely; as they look to add to, or begin, their newest favorite collection," a Delta spokesperson told BI.

Given the recent spike in popularity of the cards, passengers should remember to give grace to pilots who may have run out and be sure not to distract the crew while they're performing their flight duties.

Frontier has its own trading cards and wants you to "collect them all"

Frontier Airlines passengers can also join in on collecting trading cards. Frontier flyers can ask the crew for a card featuring the animal displayed on the tail of the aircraft.

Although not all aircraft in its fleet have a trading card, there are standard cards and endangered species cards, a Frontier spokesperson told Business Insider.

"You can tell the difference by the artwork, and the endangered ones are true baseball card size," the spokesperson said.

The animals even have names like, "Virginia the wolf" and "Grizwala the bear". Passengers are encouraged to "collect them all".

"They were brought back about 7 years ago," a spokesperson told BI. "Trading cards are a great way for us to inform the public about our brand and communicate about our animals in a fun way that kids (and adults too) would enjoy."

BI also reached out to JetBlue Airways, United Airlines, Spirit Airlines, American Airlines, and Southwest Airlines, for details about the trading cards, but the latter two airlines didn't immediately respond.

JetBlue confirmed to BI that they no longer offer trading cards today, but the airline released a set of 15 different aircraft cards in 2011.

United also released a limited-edition trading card set in June 2023 to celebrate its 100th Instagram follower. One hundred packs were given away.

"Our pilots don't carry trading cards on hand," a United spokesperson told BI. "They do, however, usually carry plastic wings or collectible 'challenge' coins to give out on special circumstances."

Spirit has a set of digital trading cards "that show off our fleet" which are viewable on social media.