In 2007, American Airlines took a man named Steve to court over a VIP card. The card was purchased by Steve 20 years ago for $250,000**, and holders can fly for unlimited free flights.
However, the airline now regrets giving it to Steve and therefore tries to get the card back. However, Steve refuses their request, leading to this legal dispute.
It is worth noting that there were 66 people who bought this VIP card at that time, why was Steve the only one being sued?
An ordinary American, Steve Rothstein, used to be a keen traveler, and the annual travel expenses made him feel stressed. However, in 1976, his life changed dramatically.
He moved to Chicago with the intention of expanding his career here. Three years later, he successfully became the second largest shareholder of Bear Stearns, one of the world's top 500 companies, and realized his career dream.
Steve is a shareholder in a global financial services company who is passionate about growing his business and meeting new clients. His continuous efforts made him the largest shareholder of a ** financial company a few years later, which provided more possibilities for his wealth to increase.
In order to expand his business and host new clients, Steve needs to travel frequently, and the company of his family is crucial to him. Despite his busy schedule, whenever he has the opportunity, he buys a flight home to spend time with his wife and children.
Steve enjoys traveling with his family on his days off, spending nearly a third of his year at the airport waiting or flying. Although booking tickets needs to be booked in advance, the process is complicated, and there is no way to buy the flight he wants during the peak season, which makes Steve very distressed.
He longs for the day when he can easily buy a ticket, without queuing or having to book in advance. In 1987, that wish finally came true, and he saw an American Airlines campaign that was launched, and his eyes lit up.
Purchase a VIP card for unlimited flights and enjoy a privileged life. For as little as $250,000, you can enjoy unlimited American Airlines flights, making it easy for cardholders to reach wherever they are.
Buy tickets without queuing, enjoy first-class treatment, and are free for life. In the eighties of the last century, for most people, $250,000 was an unattainable number, and only wealthy businessmen and ** could afford the cost of a flight ticket, and ordinary people might not be able to get on a plane once in their lifetime.
So, when this campaign was launched, most people just took it as entertainment and didn't take it seriously. But, today, the opportunity is in your hands.
Take advantage of this opportunity and let the VIP card for unlimited flights bring you a premium flying experience.
American Airlines has launched a campaign to not only expect people to spend 250,000 yuan on VIP cards, but also to let more people know about their airline.
After market research and calculations, American Airlines found that even if someone is really willing to pay 250,000 yuan to buy a VIP card, the number of flights they take in their lifetime may not be much, so for the company, this is a sure deal.
By the end of the campaign, American Airlines had sold a total of 66 VIP cards, including Steve. While many sympathized with the 66 people who bought the VIP cards, calling them wronged, American Airlines was thrilled because the sales of the 66 VIP cards helped them come back from the brink of bankruptcy.
Most of the American Airlines VIP card purchasers, who only fly two or three times a year, began to regret spending $250,000 on a discarded card and tried to apply for a refund from American Airlines, but the application was unsuccessful due to the rules of the event that the cards sold could not be returned or exchanged.
However, Steve is the only one who uses the VIP card to the extreme, after having the VIP card, he no longer has to worry about not being able to buy a ticket, every time after the business with a customer, even if it is already ** o'clock in the evening, as long as American Airlines has a flight, he will immediately take the plane home.
In the past, he needed to go out with supplies and materials for a few days of business trips. Now, after he has finished talking about business, he can fly home for lunch cooked by his wife and fly to meet another client with his materials.
He flies too many times a year to remember, and almost treats planes like buses. American Airlines has launched a campaign where VIP card holders can buy an additional card for $150,000 and take one person in first class for free per flight.
Steve didn't hesitate to spend the $150,000 because he wanted the family's happiness to transcend it all. Ever since owning this secondary card, Steve's life has been filled with endless joy, and whenever it is time to take his family on a trip around the world.
They were in Provence, France, tasting the famous lavender wine, climbing the Eiffel Tower for views of Paris, and even heading to Canada to see Niagara Falls, the world's largest transnational waterfall.
Steve is so caring for his family that he flies over the mountains and rivers every weekend to be with his daughter, who is attending school in Switzerland. In order to realize his son's dream of watching football games, he did not hesitate to go to Italy.
Even in 1995, he flew to Tokyo with his family to experience a different Christmas atmosphere. Due to the frequent flights, Steve became acquainted with the airport staff and the crew on the plane, and greeted him cordially every time he met.
Over the past 20 years, he has flown more than 10,000 miles and traveled more than 10 million miles all over the world.
Steve is not only a cheerful and optimistic person, but also has a passion for helping others. Once, while he was waiting for a flight at the airport, he met a young man who looked very worried.
The youth was anxious to go back to visit his seriously ill mother, but was anxious because he had missed his flight. Without saying a word, Steve immediately booked a ticket for the young man with his supplementary card, took him on the plane, and flew first class with him.
Thanks to Steve's help, the young man was able to meet his mother, who was waiting for him tenaciously. Afterwards, the youth called Steve to express his gratitude.
Steve found joy in the process of helping others, and since then he has actively practiced the spirit of Leifeng. He once upgraded a newlywed couple to first class so they could enjoy the comfort of their honeymoon.
There is also a terminally ill man who dreams of flying, and Steve puts him in first class on the plane, with no destination, just to make his wish come true.
Steve has helped more and more people, and they have made his name famous by sharing Steve's good deeds through social **.
3. American Airlines is remorseful and hopes that Steve will return the VIP card American Airlines employees all know Steve's name, and everyone didn't think there was anything wrong with it at first, after all, among the 66 VIP cards out, Steve is the only one who often uses this card.
But in 2007, American Airlines employees made a calculation, and they were shocked by the results. In the past 20 years, Steve's flight cost has reached 20 million US dollars, and the VIP card he bought only needs 250,000 yuan.
Seeing this bill, the employee who proposed this activity plan and promised that the company would make a steady profit was almost in tears, because he was about to retire, and he still had to pay for a wrong decision 20 years ago?
In order to avoid losses, American Airlines quickly contacted Steve and sincerely offered: "We are willing to compensate you $250,000 and ask you to return your VIP card." However, can the $250,000 in 2007 be the same as the $250,000 200,000 20 years ago?
Originally, Steve bought the VIP card to facilitate the flight. Now that he has amassed a fortune, the $250,000 is a piece of cake for him.
Therefore, he decisively rejected American Airlines' request. Later, American Airlines sent a representative to the door and raised the compensation amount to 400,000 and then to 2 million, but Steve's answer was still no.
The airline ticket purchased by Steve enjoys free service for life, but American Airlines has asked to withdraw the service because of the increase in the number of times Steve has made flights, which has aroused widespread concern among the public.
Steve took American Airlines to court, and the court ultimately upheld Steve's claim and ruled that the airline must honor the original agreement between the two parties to provide free service for life.
This incident once again reminds us that enterprises should strictly abide by the contract, operate in good faith, and not easily breach the contract.
After investigating Steve's flight records over the past 20 years, American Airlines discovered that he had given the secondary card to strangers and accepted small thank you money from them.
Although the amount of money is small, only a few tens of dollars, it is unacceptable for American Airlines. As a result, they took Steve to court again in 2008, accusing him of selling tickets without permission, using the supplementary card to make huge profits, and demanding that his lifetime free flight rights be taken back.
The court sided with American Airlines, and Steve's VIP card privileges were revoked without any compensation. Steve was unhappy about this, but lost the appeal in 2011.
However, American's victory was not flawless, and although the lawsuit was won, it lost the trust of the public.
The scandal in the New York Times and the New York Post has led to a major public perception of the airline's reputation, which is widely seen as lacking credibility.
As a result, American Airlines was given the nickname "Stupid Airlines". The negative events caused many of those who had been loyal customers of American Airlines to switch to other airlines, and as a result, American Airlines lost about 40 percent of its customers and its revenue plummeted like a cascade.