A man who purchased a lifetime first-class ticket for American Airlines in 1987 had it revoked after the company accused him of fraud.
However, Steven Rothstein was able to fly an astounding 10,000 times before losing his ticket. This translates to roughly 10 million air miles!
The buyer decided to help others by making sure they flew home safely when they were stranded, he flew a priest to Rome for an audience with the Pople and gave a friend of his the chance to visit the Louvre.
Steven also used his special ticket to fly his family around and flew to places just to get a particular sandwich or to watch a baseball game.
These days, he would be highly criticized for leaving a massive carbon footprint, but back then this wasn’t of much concern to anyone.
The unlimited flight ticket cost him $250,000 and he also paid for a companion seat that cost $150,000.
All in all, Steven got around $21,000,000 worth of flights from American Airlines, before they eventually canceled his ticked after accusing him of fraud.
It isn’t a secret that he sometimes put made-up names like ‘Bag Rothstein’ on his ticket if he wasn’t sure who he’d be flying with, but he claims that the company have violated their contract.
In reality, American Airlines is currently in the process of trying to review the AAirpass program to get rid of a few of the 66 high-level contracts that are costing them millions of dollars each year.
Back in 2012, Steve told The New York Post:
“[I] became a hero at the airline.
I could just show up and get a seat.
I could go someplace and I wouldn’t even have to think about it.
“Just make the reservation and go.”
In July of 2004, Steven traveled 18 times to numerous places around the globe. He took an entire business junket to Caracas in Venezuela and sent his daughter to an expensive boarding school in Switzerland.
He would even fly to Rhode Island just to have a nice baloney and Swiss cheese sandwich.
But that wasn’t all.
He also gave away all 14 million air miles that he accrued over the years, paying for a woman to get on a flight back to New York because her kids didn’t have a place to stay, and helping a friend return home to Bosnia.
Steven said he ‘felt those random acts of kindness were exactly the sorts of things that we’re meant to do as people.’
But unfortunately, that’s precisely what got him into trouble.
On the Bosnia matter, he was told his pass had been terminated because of fraudulent activity.
He explained:
“I feel betrayed.
They took away my hobby and my life. They essentially destroyed my persona.
Our country is almost captive to big companies who have incredible power to do whatever they want to do.
It’s hard to fight them.”
He concluded:
“They signed a contract, and a contract’s a contract.”
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