Man had his $250K lifetime first-class ticket revoked after he cost the airline $21 million
- Steven Rothstein bought a lifetime first-class ticket for $250K
- With this ticket, he boarded 10,000 flights at no cost
- However, the airline suspended his ticket for violating its rules
Published on Oct 21, 2024 at 4:28 PM (UTC+4)
by Nalin Rawat
Last updated on Oct 24, 2024 at 4:58 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Tom Wood
A man who bought an American Airlines $250K lifetime first-class ticket had it revoked after he cost the airline $21 million.
However, his lifetime pass wasn’t revoked due to the millions he was costing the airlines but for another reason.
Steven Rothstein was among 66 people who purchased American Airlines’ lifetime first-class tickets, called the AAirpass.
He bought his ‘golden ticket’ in 1987, and in the 21 years that followed, he boarded 10,000 flights.
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$250K lifetime first-class ticket revoked
American Airlines launched the lifetime first-class ticket to make up for lost profit after financial struggles in 1981.
However, they never anticipated that one such ticket holder could cost them $21 million.
By 2008, Rothstein had racked up 30 million miles with his lifetime pass, all of which were free of charge.
Just one man made the entire AAirpass program unprofitable.
However, it took American Airlines decades to realize that just one passenger was costing them millions.
Rothstein also bought a $150,000 ‘companion pass’ with his lifetime first-class ticket, allowing him to take one more person with him on any flight.
Membership revoked
Eventually, the airlines caught on to him in 2008 and revoked his lifetime first-class ticket.
He found out about it just as he was about to board his flight to Bosnia, leaving the man unable to travel.
Rothstein is not the only person who has traveled that much with his lifetime pass.
Tom Stuker is another person who paid $290,000 for a lifetime airline pass to United Airlines.
Unfortunately, Rothstein was sued by American Airlines but not for the personal overuse of the AAirpass.
Instead, they accused him of booking seats for non-existent passengers and for flights he was never planning to board.
However, Rothstein and American Airlines eventually settled the case outside of court.
For at least one incident, Rothstein claimed he was performing ‘good deeds’ by helping others with his tickets.
He told Forbes: “I gave a man in Seattle a ticket to go to his father’s funeral. I gave many people tickets to visit ill family members.
“I don’t view that as philanthropy, I view that as good deeds.”
He now prefers to fly with United Airlines, just like Tom Stuker.
Nalin started his career by working with various national newspapers in India. He has also worked as a writer/editor for many popular websites, while still pursuing his journalism and mass communication degree. Working as a digital nomad has allowed him to inform and educate through his work. When he is not writing, you can find him playing video games or travelling the mountains on his bike.
