AAirpass
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wrote on last edited by [email protected]
The program (now re-branded as AirPass) initially enabled passholders unlimited first class travel on any of the airline's flights worldwide. Lifetime membership was priced at $250,000, with the option to purchase a companion pass for an additional $150,000.
The cost of the pass was $250,000 when launched in 1981 (equivalent to $864,660 in 2024), this increased to $600,000 in 1990 (equivalent to $1,444,065 in 2024), and $1.01 million in 1993 (equivalent to $2.2 million in 2024). The airline ended sales of the unlimited passes in 1994 except for a one-time offer in the 2004 Neiman Marcus Christmas catalog at a price of $3 million (equivalent to $4,994,186 in 2024) for the pass and $2 million for a companion pass; none were sold.
The airline's investigators concluded that two AAirpass holders, Steven Rothstein and Jacques Vroom, were costing the airline more than $1 million annually.
On December 13, 2008, Rothstein checked in at Chicago O'Hare International Airport with a friend for a flight to Bosnia. A letter from the airline was hand-delivered to him at the airport informing him that the pass had been terminated due to fraudulent behavior.
