Man who had lifetime first-class ticket revoked after costing airline $21,000,000 had to follow one rule

High flying became a way of life for Steven Rothstein when he bought a lifetime first-class ticket AAirpass from American Airlines in 1987 before it was controversially revoked.

It set him back just $250,000 at the time – just under $700,000 today.  

He was entitled to unlimited first-class flights.

However, there was one golden rule that seemed simple enough but he ultimately fell foul of – here’s what happened that led to the pass being revoked.

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The lifetime first-class ticket

As well as allowing unlimited first-class travel alongside 66 other wealthy flyers, Rothstein also added a companion pass for an additional $150,000.

Over the two decades that followed, Rothstein booked thousands of flights.

So many, in fact, that it’s estimated to have cost the airline over $21 million.

There was said to have only been given one simple and straightforward rule: not to lend it to anybody else.

“When I bought the AAirpass, in no uncertain terms, they told me that there was only one rule: I couldn’t give anybody the AAirpass,” he previously told The Guardian.

“And those were the days before they took identification from passengers.”

Rothstein claims that despite a colleague offering $5,000 a week to use it – he turned them down.

So where did it all go wrong?

After revoking the pass in 2008, American Airlines claimed Rothstein had been ‘fraudulent’ in the way he used the pass.

He was accused of violating the pass rules by making speculative bookings and reserving seats under fictitious names including ‘Bag Rothstein’ and ‘Steven Rothstein Jr’.

Rothstein countersued in 2009, seeking $7 million in damages.

However, both parties ultimately settled out of court, with Rothstein claiming that he regrets buying it.

American Airlines told the Guardian that while they ‘continue to provide AirPass benefits to eligible cardholders’, they are ‘enjoyed in conjunction with the appropriate program conditions’.

A man who bought an unlimited flight pass in 1990 racked up an unbelievable amount of air miles.