dayone

I've heard reports of people seeing Jesus on AA flights, usually in bad weather.

chicaloca453

I'd never heard this story so OP thanks. I see no need to attack a poster for posting something lighthearted. As for the validity, it could be true and it could be Magic was given the choice of sitting in coach or taking the next flight in first and he chose the latter.

I must admit that I am a fan of Mark Cuban so I enjoyed this and think it could very well be true. But even if it's not, it's still a fun tale to tell that isn't hurting anyone.

TrojanHorse

my question is why was magic upgraded?

elite? celeb?

even if full Y/B he wouldn't have been upgraded without elite status right?

mcgahat

Do we know for sure he didnt have status? Does a lot of traveling I am sure.

SMFlagg

Cuban was on the Howard Stern show yesterday (great interview btw), and he recounted the story. He mentioned he transferred this lifetime pass to his father a few years ago as he doesn't find himself traveling commercial much any longer. The pass had a one-time only transfer clause.

Not really ground breaking, but I thought I'd share.

FLLUAFlyer

You meaning to tell me Mark Cuban cannot fly dear old dad around in his jet (or at least get him a NetJet card)!!!! The man who raised him!

JDiver

As there is no current Lifetime AAirpass thread, this thread has been repurposed for a broader discussion of the Lifetime AAirpass. /AA Moderation Team

JDiver

Note that there were limited AAirpasses (more like an advance purchase of a certain number of BIS miles per year, for a defined period of time - 1 to 5 years were some, iirc), and unlimited Lifetime AAirpasses (which included lifetime Admirals Club membership); some included a companion, iirc, and for others one could purchase a companion pass at a reduced rate. As for Mr. Cuban's pass, there seems to be no historical record I can find of there being a Lifetime AAirpass for $125,000, only one for $250,000 when they were initially released for sale. (Heckuva deal! Approximately $544,000 in 2012 dollars...)

The most notorious unlimited Lifetime AAirpass members (who also had companion passes) were Jacques Vroom, who allegedly purchased his AAirpass for $356,000 in 1990, and had accumulated 37,522,942 over 18 years, and and Steven Rothstein (30 million miles). Both were accused of misusing their passes by AA's Revenue Integrity Unit, which revoked their passes. Apparently Vroom was allegedly booking flights that were essentially duplicates and AA was stuck paying taxes on them - see this document. <link> to one of the many stories.

I recall flying FRA-DFW in F (772) one time (no AAirpass here, I upgraded from Business), and a Lifetime AAirpass holder was seated there with his companion; the FAs were very impressed, and they saw them a couple of times a month on these flights iirc, as they had a pressing reason to make bimonthly medically related trips to Germany at the time. (Sometimes it can pay to be in a seat close to the galley when folks are feeling chatty .)

Other threads discuss some prominent AAirpass holders whose passes AA canceled for alleged abuse of the system. As they are all over two years old (two years since the last post) they do not bear resuscitating.

A salient question today is whether the "new American" will respect the Lifetime AAirpasses remaining - which would likely depend on whether American has included jettisoning their obligation to Lifetime AAirpass holders in the current bankruptcy proceedings. (I'd guess "yes", and that the new entity will chose to cause them to expire.)

keepssmile

I still remembered this article from LA Times..."The frequent fliers who flew too much"
http://articles.latimes.com/2012/may...icket-20120506

FullFare

JDiver raises a major point that is center on my radar. Mine was a Lifetime AAirpass, purchased 20 yrs ago, with a mileage block of 55,000/year, which would roll over if I didn't use them all. Currently still have 500,000 unused rolled-over miles. Lifetime AC for self and spouse still endures.

I called AA and asked if they were continuing to honor the AAirpass program, and they said yes. As to whether they will jettison the lifetime version, I don't know, but hope they keep it, obviously. At the time of my purchase, I put up about $160,000K. I would have needed to pony up about $700K at the time for the unlimited w companion, but could't see it. I figured I didn't want to pre-pay into an addiction. Still feel OK with the decision. At the time there was no EXP and no lifetime Plat. There was no such thing as qualifying for status by points. So, strategy was to do something that would perpetuate Plat status. Probably worked.

In the aftermath, AA pretty much abandoned my home town (de-hubbed SJC and chose LAX over the Bay Area). So, I'm 2mm on UA now and wife will be soon. Actually doing a fair amount of DL. This year, going for Trifecta---EXP, 1K, and Diamond Medallion on DL. Wonder how many of us there are.

Will miss the AAirpass if they can it. Flying isn't everything. My wife worries we have too many miles. She criticizes me for too many FT posts, as well, claiming I need to get a better life.

gemac

Tell your wife that I said you do not have too many posts.

mpc7488

I just stumbled across the LA Times article today, and did a search on Flyertalk to see the perspectives here. I knew I'd find some additional commentary, thanks for the stories

I can see how Vroom's use appeared fraudulent, but Rothstein seemed like a genuinely nice guy who was gifting the companion seats (not charging for them), always traveling himself as well, and in no violation of the terms. His countersuit against American was put on hold when they went into Chapter 11, I wonder if it will continue now?

Cathay Boy

I just talked to our new Vice President and we talk about FFPs and he started to make a claim that he bought AA fly first class for life in 2004, but I thought they discontinued this practice long ago? He said it cost him $3 million but he uses it so much that it's "Worth it"? What?

And yes, he's determined to get his pennies back, he claims he would fly anywhere over the weekends to another country (England, Japan, etc.) and back. He's done this almost 2 out of 4 weekends per month since 2004 when he got it.

Is this true or he's punking me?

JDiver

In 2004, the $3 million dollar lifetime Airpass was on offer. Whilst I certainly couldn't verify his bona fides, the numbers are correct.

We'll merge this into the current thread. /Moderator

Best deal I knew of was on another airline. A relative of mine was widowed from her high-level manager husband, and she had a lifetime unlimited pass for her and one companion in F. She enjoyed taking family children to Hawaii for a week's holiday. (I was not one of them.)

FWAAA

I've read news sources that say that nobody bit on the $3 million lifetime AAirpass offer from Dec 2004, so dunno if the friend is lying or not.