Can You Still Get An American Airlines Lifetime Pass?

Faced with serious financial challenges following the Airline Deregulation Act of 1978, American Airlines came up with a novel idea to generate a lot of revenue quickly – the AAirpass.

For the price of $250,000 at the time (the equivalent of more than $600,000 today) the AAirpass entitled its owner to unlimited first-class flights with the airline for life. They were also eligible to add on a buddy pass for an extra $150,000 (approximately $400,000 today), which allowed the passenger to take a companion with them on any flight.

However, the idea did not bring in the revenue that American Airlines had hoped for, actually costing the airline money in taxes, fees, and lost ticket sales (allegedly $1 million per pass, per year). The carrier therefore sought to bring the scheme to an end and the pass was discontinued in 2004. By that time, 28 people had managed to get hold of one, according to Hustle.

All good things come to an end

One of the 28 AApass holders was frequent flyer Steve Rostein, who reportedly took over 10,000 flights while in possession of the pass, including around 1,000 trips to New York, 500 to London, and 120 to Tokyo. However, Rostein’s AAirpass was abruptly withdrawn in 2008 for what the airline described as ‘fraudulent usage’ such as booking flights but not traveling on them.

Photo: Bradley Caslin | Shutterstock

According to a report by The Guardian, Rostein contested the allegations and took American Airlines to court in March 2009, seeking $7 million – the perceived value of the pass at the time, plus the cost of first-class travel for the rest of his life. The judge eventually ruled in American Airlines’ favor two years later. Two other passengers also had their passes revoked, leaving 25 lucky AAirpass holders still flying unlimited first-class flights today.

The AirPass today

More recently, American Airlines introduced a slimmed-down version of its AAirpass, known simply as AirPass. Depending on the size of the initial investment, instant elite status was granted – for example, $10,000 would grant instant access to AAdvantage Gold, while those putting down $30,000 would achieve instant AAdvantage Executive Premium status.

The value of the initial payment was then used as credit towards flights, which were calculated by route distance and cabin, rather than travel date. This means that flights were not necessarily cheaper, but this level of flexibility was greatly valued by some. The AirPass brought other perks too, including lounge access and no same-day change fees.

Photo: Vincenzo Pace | Simple Flying

However, unfortunately for those wishing to join the scheme, American Airlines stopped accepting new membership applications for its AirPass on November 30th, 2022. It remains to be seen if the oneworld carrier will bring in another iteration of the pass for future generations.

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Would you have liked to hold an American Airlines AAirpass? How would you have used it? Do you have one of the more recent AirPasses? Let us know by commenting below.