in April 2011, he received a certified letter from United, cheerily informing him that because he had taken advantage of the system his frequent-flyer account was permanently suspended. He was banned from flying, he recalls the letter saying, unless he paid the company $4,755 — the amount it claimed as losses through Schlappig's techniques.

"I mean, how do you define 'taking advantage of'?" Schlappig asks, passing a hand towel back to a doting attendant as we fly over the South China Sea. "Was I seriously inconvenienced to the tune of $200 every time my audio wasn't working? No. But they create the system."