American Airlines

In 2001, American Airlines (AA) ran an internal contest in which 6 cards featuring aviation icons were printed out to be distrubuted among employees. While these are quite difficult to find, they served as the only existence of collectible trading cards.

Since then, AA refused to create pilot trading cards up until recently in 2026. Unconfirmed sources also claimed American headquarters explicitly denied interests in creating these collectibles. However, pilots have traditionally printed and handed out custom-made cards to many passengers asking for one. This, of course, lead to various unique designs imparted by each pilot’s design.

In 2026, the first official and organized effort for the trading cards were credited to Allied Pilots Association, the pilot union representing AA pilots. Only a few days later did AA headquarters launch the corporate’s official trading cards, featuring both modern and vintage fleet that dates back 90 years!