Former American Airlines chief revealed the real reasons why the company terminated a frequent flier’s lifelong’ first class ticket, after the company spent millions on the ticket.
Steven Rothstein, a businessman from Chicago, purchased an exclusive £190,000 AAirpass ticket in 1987, which granted him unlimited first-class flights for life. In addition to the AAirpass, Rothstein also splurged a further £115,000 for a companion pass, allowing him to travel with a guest.
Rothstein, who was 37 at the time, considered the AAirpass a smart investment given his frequent business travels. Rothstein flew more than 30,000,000 miles in the next two decades. His extensive flying habit, reportedly cost American Airlines a staggering $21 million (£16 million).
Nancy Rothstein, a former wife of the businessman at the time, told journalists that Rothstein had ‘gotten on a plane as most people do’. Rothstein’s golden Ticket, despite his frequent and lavish travels, came to an abrupt stop in December 2008.
Steven Rothstein, a businessman from Chicago, purchased an exclusive £190,000 AAirpass ticket in 1987, which granted him unlimited first-class flights for life Speaking to the Guardian in 2019, he recalled the moment he was informed of the termination.
Он сказал: “I checked in my luggage to London at the ticket counter. I walked up to the gate… And as I walked on the plane they handed me a termination letter for the AAirpass. Why did they let you go to the gate? Why didn’t you tell me in advance, which would have made it nice?”
But Rothstein’s journey did not end there. American Airlines quickly launched a lawsuit against Rothstein claiming that he abused the scheme, making a series’speculative reservations’ for nonexistent passengers.
According to the airline Rothstein booked fourteen flights under names like ‘Bag Rothstein Jr’ and ‘Steven Rothstein Jr.’, which, they argued, violated AAirpass’ terms.
Rothstein, in his defence, claimed that the only rule he had ever been told to follow was not to allow anyone else to make use of the AAirpass. He claimed to have turned down people’s offers to pay him thousands per week just for the right to use it.
The stockbroker’s wife and her daughter also claimed that he had “never used a PC” and that “every reservation he made was with an American Airlines employee paid by the airline”.
American Airlines filed a lawsuit against Rothstein, alleging that he had abused its AAirpass program by making a series’speculative reservations’ for nonexistent passengers. American Airlines accused other flyers who had breached their contracts of either giving strangers a reserved seat for their companion or leaving it empty to make more room (stock image).
Rothstein said: “When I bought the AAirpass they made it clear that the only rule I had to follow was not to give the AAirpass to anyone else. And those were the old days, before they asked passengers for identification.”
American Airlines accused other flyers who had breached their contracts of either giving strangers a reserved seat for their companion or leaving the seat empty for more space.
Rothstein counter-sued the travel giant for revocation of the ticket, accusing it of violating its terms. The dispute was settled out of Court and the pass is now no longer available.
Bob Crandall was American Airlines’ chairman and CEO between 1985 and 1998. He told the Los Angeles Times later that the 1981 pass was initially intended to be a ‘product that companies would buy for their top employees’.
Он добавил: “It was soon apparent that the public were smarter than us.”
It comes after budget airline Wizz Air launched a new ‘all you can fly’ deal for just £426-a-year with customers able to jump on unlimited flights. The subscription service, priced at €499 (£426) for a short time in August 2024, allows passengers to fly as far as the Maldives for a flat fare of £9 per hop.
