COST OF MILE WITH AIRPASS PLUS
COST OF MILE WITH AIRPASS FREE

COST OF MILE WITH AIRPASS PLUS

And the passengers did what all Americans would do – sued the company, but for Rothstain’s case at least, the outcome wasn’t clear as it was settled privately out-of-court.Īmerican Airlines stopped regularly offering the ultimate lifetime pass in 1994, though they did offer it once in 2004, for $3 million, plus $2 million for a companion pass, which no one bought. Security agents cornered them at airports, revoked their passes, and told them that they would never fly on American Airlines again. In 2008, American Airlines accused Rothstein and two others of fraud, and said by booking under false names, they had broken their contract. That normally wouldn’t be a problem – except that in order to have the option to do it, the pass-holders would regularly book their companion pass seat under a fake name, like Bag Rothstein, or Benedict Cumberbatch.

COST OF MILE WITH AIRPASS FREE

Rothstein and others would often use their passes to help complete strangers for a free flight. By 2008, Rothstein had traveled over 10 million miles or 16,000,000 km. They estimated that super travelers like Rothstein were costing them over $1 million a year each.

Soon, American Airlines realized the terrible mistake they’d made. When you adjust for inflation, the cost of flying is now about 50% less. Keep in mind, too, that back in the 80s, when the pass was first offered, flying cost a lot more than it does now. Mike Joyce once used his pass to fly round-trip to London 16 times – in 25 days. A lot of other people used this pass much more than expected, too. This meant that whenever Steven got hungry, American Airlines had to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars in fuel, and other costs – not to mention lost ticket sales. Sometimes he would fly to Providence, Rhode Islands, just to get his favorite sandwich. He would fly to London for lunch with a friend, or to Boston for a baseball game, then back home for dinner. That’s an average of more than a flight a day. Over the next 25 years, he booked over 10,000 flights. Steven, a Chicago investment banker, bought the unlimited Airpass in 1987. American Airlines assumed people won’t use the pass much, but they failed to consider super travelers like Steven Rothstein.

So, 28 people bought this offer.Įven though $400,000 is a lot of money, soon American Airlines realized that they had made a terrible mistake in their pricing. In exchange for that you got unlimited, free first-class travel anywhere in the world, on any American Airlines flight, for life and with the companion pass, you could take anyone with you. So, if you bought both you were looking at a total of $400,000. When the pass was first offered in 1981, it cost $250,000, and you could spend an additional $150,000 for a companion pass. Such as the airpass of American Airlines. In desperate times, come desperate solutions. And the airline desperately needed it for fuel… which costs money. In the 1980s, American Airlines were short of money. They sold the infamous unlimited lifetime Ah-Airpass. In this video, we’ll talk about the mistake American Airlines made.

Cost of mile with airpass