United Airlines has terminated senior flight attendants for selling coveted international trips to junior colleagues for cash, marking the latest enforcement action against a practice the airline has repeatedly tried to stamp out. The Association of Flight Attendants-CWA union reports a “significant increase” in terminations related to trip trading violations, according to reports from July 21-22, 2026.
The practice, known as “trip parking,” involves senior flight attendants bidding on desirable international routes they have no intention of flying, then selling them to more junior crew members willing to pay for access to premium destinations or better scheduling. Junior flight attendants benefit by gaining trips they couldn’t bid for directly, while senior crew members profit from their seniority privileges without working the flights.
Flight attendants advertising trips for sale use coded language to signal availability, including terms like “cookies,” “hugs,” and “kisses,” according to crew trading platforms. Interested junior flight attendants contact the sellers directly to negotiate prices before processing the swap through official channels.
United strictly prohibits selling trips for cash, viewing the practice as an abuse of the seniority system that undermines fair access to desirable routes. The airline created software in 2019 to analyze trip trades and flag suspicious patterns. However, not all carriers share this policy: Southwest Airlines, Alaska Airlines, Frontier, and JetBlue have no formal rules against trading trips for compensation, while American Airlines and Delta also prohibit the practice like United does.
This is not the first time United has cracked down on trip trading. In 2020, the airline terminated 28 veteran flight attendants for the same alleged violations, including Anna Palova, who had worked for United for 28 years with a spotless record. Palova sued United on age discrimination grounds, and her case remained ongoing as of June 2025.
The AFA-CWA union says it will “push back on every case” and demand reinstatement for terminated flight attendants. In a recent memo, the union stated: “We demand a proper investigation, we demand a proper notice of this new reality, we demand a decision be made on fact and not suspicion, and we demand progressive discipline be adhered to when and ONLY IF wrongdoing is truly established.” The union fought to give flight attendants flexibility to swap trips and days off and surrendered economic value in their contract to secure that freedom, making the current enforcement action a point of tension in labor relations.
Sources
- One Mile at a Time — Background on trip trading mechanics, why it’s problematic, and United’s enforcement actions
- Paddle Your Own Kanoo — Details on current terminations, the 2020 precedent with Anna Palova, union response, and industry comparison on trip trading policies
- Simple Flying — Confirmation that United has terminated senior flight attendants following internal investigation into trip trading
- InsideFlyer — Report of union noting surge in terminations for trip trading violations
- Aviation A2Z — Details on 2020 terminations of 28 veteran flight attendants and current enforcement surge
