In 1987, Steve Rothstein bought a $250,000 AAirpass from American Airlines, allowing unlimited first-class travel. He took over 10,000 flights, costing the airline $21 million, leading to the pass’s termination in 2008 due to alleged misuse.

That’s Louis, from suits.

Misuse lmao, you really can never win against companies

American Airlines didn’t like him using the service he paid for?

It didn’t cost the airline 21 million. They didn’t make 21 million off of him. But he would never have made 21 million worth of flights because he would not have been able to afford that.

So he didn’t just buy one pass. He bought his pass and a companion pass. Supposedly, he would then offer to take people using his companion pass wherever they wanted to go (I’m assuming for less than the cost of the airline ticket). He would also sometimes book the companion seat under a fake name to keep it vacant so he wouldn’t have to sit next to people or to store extra luggage (luggage rules were a lot looser back then). That was supposedly the misuse they cited as reasons for the revocation. He sued them. They sued him. Then they declared bankruptcy. Then they settled all the lawsuits out of court.

There was another guy who was also (supposedly) selling his companion seat that got his revoked, but that lawsuit is apparently still going.

Unlimited. You keep using that word. I don’t think it means what you think it means.

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AAirpass#Pass_terminations](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AAirpass#Pass_terminations)

The AAirpass program sold 66 of the unlimited passes. As far as I can tell, only two were revoked by American Airlines for (alleged) misuse.

In Rothstein’s case, the airline alleged that Rothstein had a “*history of approaching passengers at the gate and offering them travel on his companion seat*” and would “*[use] the companion program to purchase an adjacent empty seat under a fake name to keep them vacant, which was often used for privacy or extra carry-on luggage.*”

That’s more than 1 flight per day each day for 21 years. Something about this is just wrong unless they’re counting companion flights too but still, it doesn’t really add up.

I read that it was more cost effective for AA to open a department to specifically track when contracts were somehow violated and passes could be revoked.

Did they think someone was going to spend a quarter of a mil on something and not use it?

Treat it like a restaurant / hotel. Just fly when you feel hungry / tired

Back when XFM and Sirius were two separate satellite radio services, my friend bought a lifetime subscription plan for XFM for like $150. Those companies merged and still honored that agreement. Thats been like 15 years ago and to this day I believe he still has a lifetime membership.

What a hero.

Misuse = using it? 🤣

Corporations when consumers try to get the most out of what they buy