You’ll have a new way to celebrate the spirit of travel the next time you fly with Spirit Airlines.
Spirit has just launched a new range of trading cards that passengers can collect every time they fly with the ultra-low-cost airline.
The full set contains six cards celebrating various aircraft from Spirit’s past and present fleet: the Airbus A319, A320 and A321, as well as the newer A320neo and A321neo. Spirit’s first set of trading cards, sponsored by Airbus, showcased Spirit’s historic livery as well as its current distinctive yellow hue.
Don’t bother buying a set of these cards, though: the only way to get them is to fly on a Spirit flight, ask the pilot for a card when boarding or disembarking, and hope that one of the pilots has some on hand (of course, as more people collect these cards, it’s likely that the cards will start showing up on eBay).
Spirit Airlines became the latest airline to embrace the trading card craze after other airlines exposed on social media a largely unwritten, quasi-secret program Delta had run for “people in the know” for years. Southwest Airlines also launched its own line of trading cards this year.
Spirit’s embrace of this interesting initiative is noteworthy as the airline seeks to move away (at least in part) from its past model and reputation of offering low fares and low service, toward a more tiered product that incorporates elements of premium service. At the same time, the airline has been struggling to find a stable financial footing – it is in the midst of its second bankruptcy in two years and just two months ago faced speculation that it was imminent.
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For now, though, the trading cards appear to be another sign that Spirit is trying to elevate its brand and join its rival airlines — at least in spirit.
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Editorial Disclaimer: The opinions expressed here are those of the author, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, airline, or hotel chain, and have not been reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities.
