A former American Airlines boss has revealed the real reason why the firm terminated a passenger’s ‘lifelong’ first-class plane ticket – after the frequent flier cost the company millions.
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.
At the time, Rothstein was 37 years old and considered the AAirpass to be a savvy investment, given his frequent business trips.
Over the following two decades, Rothstein flew approximately 10,000 times, travelling more than 30 million miles.
His extensive flying habit, reportedly cost American Airlines a staggering $21 million (£16 million).
The businessman’s former wife, Nancy, told reporters at the time that Rothstein ‘got on a plane like most people get on a bus’.
Despite his regular and lavish travel, Rothstein’s golden ticket came to an abrupt end 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.
He said: ‘I went to the ticket counter, checked in my luggage for London, walked to the gate… and just as I was walking on the plane, they handed me a letter terminating the AAirpass.
‘Why did they let me go to the gate? Why didn’t they tell me up front, which would have been the nice thing to do?’
But Rothstein’s journey didn’t end there: American Airlines soon launched a legal battle against Rothstein, claiming he had abused the scheme by making a series of ‘speculative bookings’ for non-existent passengers.
According to the airline, Rothstein booked 14 flights under names such as ‘Bag Rothstein’ and ‘Steven Rothstein Jr’, which they argued violated the terms of the AAirpass.
In defence, Rothstein maintained that the only rule he was ever told to follow was that he could not allow anyone else to use the AAirpass.
He also claimed he turned down offers from people willing to pay him thousands of dollars a week for the privilege of using it.
The stockbroker’s wife and daughter also argued he had ‘never used a computer’ and that ‘every single reservation he ever made was made with an American Airlines paid employee’.
American Airlines soon launched a legal battle against Rothstein, claiming he had abused the AAirpass scheme by making a series of ‘speculative bookings’ for non-existent passengers
American Airlines went on to accuse several other flyers of breaching their contracts by either offering strangers a seat reserved for their companion, or keeping it empty for more space (stock image)
Rothstein explained: ‘When I bought the AAirpass, they made it very clear: the only rule was that I couldn’t give anybody else the AAirpass. And those were the days before they took identification from passengers.’
American Airlines went on to accuse several other flyers of breaching their contracts by either offering strangers a seat reserved for their companion, or keeping it empty entirely for more space.
Rothstein hit back against the travel giant’s accusations by countersuing, accusing the company of violating the terms of the ticket by revoking it.
However, the dispute was eventually settled out of court and the pass has since been discontinued.
Bob Crandall, American Airlines’ chairman and chief executive between 1985 and 1998, later told the Los Angeles Times that the pass, launched in 1981, was originally imagined to ‘be something that firms would buy for top employees’.
He added: ‘It soon became apparent that the public was smarter than we were.’
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.