American Airlines pilots will finally be able to offer airplane trading cards to passengers, though it’s proving to be a bit controversial.
Continue reading: American Pilot Union Rolls Out Airplane Trading Cards: “My Union Dues At Work”
Share your questions, experiences, and thoughts below.
Hey, the cards are cool, and so are unions; they built the middle class in our country.
Genius move by the union, makes management look like fools, makes pilots look good and customers happy. Win win
Is it really acting on members best interest.
Especially if members say it's a waste of their membership fees.
Just because it exists during that period doesn't mean it's actually responsible for the positive consequences.
It's like calling feudalism are cool; they built EU.
After the Ethiopian Airlines Flight 961 (Nov 1996): hijack all airlines agreed to pull the ranges of aircraft off their promotional literature. Now it’s being printed on the trading cards???
AA's customer service problem isn't fuzzy-wuzzy marketing pap about "impactful" "enrichment" when interacting with their employees. AA's customer service problem is that it took them until just a few months ago to offer free Wi-Fi, and that long wait reflects AA's screwed-up priorities from the C-suite down. Outside of those chained to AA's perks program, no one flies AA when they can fly Delta.
Ben,
It’s a harmless, fun idea for kids, avgeeks, and passengers who enjoy a bit of connection with crews. If what you state is correct, the company didn’t do it, so the union stepped up. No kudos for them eh? You and Gary tag teaming this thing?
This kind of reflexive negativity over something so trivial is tiresome. There wasn’t even a token attempt to see it in a positive light. At this point it really does feel like American crews can’t win in your coverage—damned if you do, damned if you don’t.
But keep punching down on your “hometown” airline. I’ll make sure my kids ask the crew for a card.
@Eskimo — You can’t let perfect be the enemy of good. There will always be something someone else considers wasteful. Yet, for those (mostly kids and av geeks) who enjoy these cards, the nominal cost is worth the benefit and joy.
@Mike P — They sure did, and a lot of bridges, tunnels, skyscrapers, too.
Sure feels like Gary (and I guess surprisingly Ben today) love to bash unions… like, fellas, bootlick and shill all you want, but you’re not getting a Concierge Key invite because you toted managements anti-union lies.
As usual, the extent of your economics knowledge is rooted in your high school textbook. Time to do some serious research.
I find him to be shockingly pro union. It doesn’t take an equity analyst to see what unions have done to US airline costs structures. There’s a reasonable debate to have when you benchmark with airlines around the world as Ben often does.
They did not. Henry Ford said he wanted his workers to be able to afford his cars. Not a union.
WWII and American innovation built the middle class - and then unions helped destroy it by making their companies uncompetitive.
Sadly that doesn't apply to airlines because of cabbotage.
If unions cared about a middle class today they would be changing seniority structures and doing everything they could to give young people access to jobs within them instead of restricting labor supply.
Mike, thanks for attempting to ‘re-eduate’ me… but, no, the ‘free market’ is not going to ‘decide’ to do anything but exploit people and resources; we need sensible regulations, including worker protections, often achieved through collective bargaining and organizing. Meanwhile, it’s clear, you think anarchy, chaos, and corporate feudalism is best… yikes. No.
James, it is the careful balance of capital and labor, military success, and yes, innovation, that have historically made the American economy the strongest in the world.
However, we’re no longer upholding the rules and fairness, or investing in people, infrastructure, and that very innovation that actually made us actually ‘great.’
Instead, we’re allowing oligarchy to enrich themselves through generalized corruption.
The people need to reject the overreach of the capital/donor class who think the rules do not apply to them. Yes, unions are part of this. Ultimately, people need to fight for their best interests. Remaining independent contractors, or getting fired ‘at-will’ isn’t going to go well for them. You’d have to be willfully ignorant to be a worker and hate unions today.
Perhaps.. you are not a worker.. perhaps.. you think you’re an oligarch.. you are not. Unless you’re already a centi-millionaire, you’re just a useful idiot attacking unions.
Once DL decides to step away from the B717, they need to come up with a "legacy" series of cards like DC-9, MD-80, MD-90 & B717. Each reflecting the variations of the DL logo as time progressed.
If you wanted to push it, a legacy series reflecting all the airlines that eventually rolled up into DL (Northeast yellow bird, Northwest, Southern, Republic, North Central, etc) that had a DC9 in their fleet at one time or another.
Isn't that the point from the start? The union wants to use this to make American leadership look bad. Instead of being funded by the airline's promotion budget, the union is paying.
This is definitely not true I have seen ranges on British Airways, BMI, and Lufthansa literature