Man who sued Pepsi over a $32m Harrier fighter jet and is now getting free flights for life initially gave a hard no to the airline’s offer

The man who sued Pepsi over a $32 million Harrier fighter jet has now been gifted free flights for life, but it took some convincing for him to take the offer.

In 1996, John Leonard attempted to redeem seven million points for a Harrier jump jet, after Pepsi teased that it would be an obtainable prize in a TV commercial.

However, when Leonard tried to claim the prize and Pepsi refused, he took the drinks company to court.

Now, 30 years later, a different kind of prize has come his way, although it took some convincing for him to accept it.

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The backstory to the Pepsi fighter jet controversy

In 1996, Pepsi said you could redeem Pepsi Points for prizes, such as sunglasses or jackets.

At the end of an advert promoting the scheme, a Harrier fighter jet flashed up.

Pepsi said the fighter jet was worth ‘7,000,000 Pepsi Points’.

At the time, Leonard set about accumulating the points, and after he did so, he contacted the company.

But they laughed him off, saying they weren’t serious about gifting a fighter jet.

This was the beginning of a years-long dispute over the Harrier prize.

Eventually, a judge sided with Pepsi, claiming the offer should not have been taken seriously.

Some 30 years later, Frontier Airlines got in touch with Leonard and offered him a slight twist to the prize.

What if they converted his seven million Pepsi Points into seven million Frontier miles?

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Leonard initially declined the Frontier Airlines offer

This would essentially give Leonard free flights for life with the airline.

At first, however, he said no and was quite firm in his response.

“I was like, well, I’ve been down this route before. No, thank you,” he said.

But Frontier persisted, and some back and forth led to his convincing.

“They just had this creative cleverness and mischievousness that I really enjoy,” Leonard said about the airline.

Now in his 50s and married with a wife and kids, Leonard can, in some ways, claim to have won the battle.

He can travel the world as much as he wants, doing what he’d have done with the Harrier.

Frontier even put together a fun ad when Leonard was given his free flights.

In the video, he was given the keys to an Airbus A320neo and made himself at home in the cockpit.

There was even a tongue-in-cheek nod to Pepsi.

While he did not get the fighter jet, Leonard’s Pepsi Points have certainly not gone to waste.

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