Should This Guy Get His Lifetime American Airlines Pass Back?

March 17, 2009 at 9:26 AM | by Omri | Comments (3)

In 1987, Steven Rothstein paid American Airlines nearly $250,000 to be able to fly first-class anywhere in the world for the rest of his life. Two years later, Rothstein paid American Airlines an additional $150,000 entitling him to take a companion along with him during his flights.

On Tuesday, Rothstein sued American Airlines for $7 million claiming the airliner illegally revoked his lifetime pass after the the airlines claimed he fraudulently used the flight passes, according to a lawsuit filed in Cook County Circuit Court Tuesday.

The passes were revoked in December 2008 because American Airlines claimed "Rothstein had a practice of making 'speculative reservations' for companions." The airliner deemed Rothstein was fraudulently using the passes, the suit said.

The $7 million figure comes from the adjusted cost of the original pass plus the cost of first class tickets for the rest of Rothstein's life.

We haven't been able to find any response from AA. That's not exactly a surprise since travel industry journalism has been reduced to reprinting press releases - something we've bemoaned more than once. Not that AA's press flak would give anything more than a terse "we don't comment about ongoing legal matters" statement. But still.

If the article is right, Rothstein's in trouble not for using his pass but for not using his pass. "Speculative airline reservations" are when passengers reserve seats on the off-chance they'll need them. It's a double-blow to an airline. Even if the passenger shows up on flight day, the cost-free speculation has driven prices and dissuaded additional buyers in the meantime. If the passenger bails out, of course, the airline may not be able to get rid of the seat.

Someone who wanted to game the system might even book two seats on a given day and not show up, increasing the chances that their buddy would get into first class on standby. That's why - in sharp distinction to what some blogs have been implying - speculative reservations are flat out banned by AA.

It's also hard to believe that AA would needlessly court bad publicity for their premium class offerings right in the middle of a massive rebranding campaign. It could be that Rothstein was going around pulling on his acquaintances' sleeves - "hey, wanna be my friend? I have first class tickets" - and they were agreeing just to make him go away before canceling because "something came up." AA would have had to take action.

Or it could be that AA decided to detonate whatever good publicity their Flagship Experience campaign has thus far generated. Airline corporations have been known to do much dumber things. This week.

Do you think Rothstein was abusing his lifetime passes on American Airlines? Or is AA just being a cold-hearted corporation? Would you give Rothstein his AA lifetime passes back?

Related Stories:
· Man with lifetime flying pass sues American Airlines for $7 million [Chicago Sun-Times]
· American Airlines [Jaunted]

[Photo: samirluther]

Comments (3)

Return to » Should This Guy Get His Lifetime American Airlines Pass Back?

he did pay over a quarter of a million dollars for th passes. why couldn't they just ding him with a fee whenever he made a speculative reservation and then bailed on it? you know how airlines love fees....

shouldn't they have warned him to stop making the speculative reservations or else, before they just cancelled his pass? i hope he's got his money's worth so far.

If I am reading it right, AA made the rules but did not like it when he played within their rules. Too bad AA you made the rules now live with them or pay. I hope you lose.

Jaunted

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