How a $250,000 Lifetime First-Class Ticket Cost American Airlines $21 Million: The Story of Steven Rothstein and AAirpass

In 1987, a man bought a lifetime first-class ticket on American Airlines for $250,000. His name was Steven Rothstein, and he used the ticket a lot. He would fly anywhere he wanted, like going to Paris for breakfast, London for lunch, and New York for dinner.

He took over 10,000 flights, which cost the airline about $21 million. In 2008, they stopped his ticket.

Back in 1981, American Airlines was having money problems and couldn’t borrow from banks because interest rates were too high. A new executive had the idea to sell lifetime first-class tickets, calling it “AAirpass,” for $250,000 each. This would give the airline money quickly.

One ticket even allowed you to bring a friend for an extra $150,000, making it $400,000 in total. If you adjust for inflation, that would be about $1.2 million today.

The airline thought people would use the tickets normally, but they didn’t expect some buyers to use them a lot. For these “super-travelers,” it was a great deal.