Bob Crandall, AA’s CEO and Chairman from 1985 – 1998 has stated: “we thought originally it would be something that firms would buy for top employees…it soon became apparent the public was smarter than we were.” In 1994, a Chicago man Mike Joyce won a $4.25 million settlement after a car accident. The vision of how the pass would be used by American Airlines did not end up matching with reality. What happened to American Airlines Airpass? Cuban, of course, flies by private jet these days but has stated that purchasing the pass was one of the “…most fun, best business decisions I’ve ever made.” He lost count of how many trips he’d taken but stated he went “everywhere”.Īn American Airlines commercial from 1982, around the time the introduction of the AAirpass. Mark Cuban has noted the AAirpass as his first big six figure splurge after he sold his first business MicroSolutions to Compuserve for an estimated $6 million. Early buyers included baseball hall of famer Willie Mays and businessman Michael Dell. The benefits of the pass not only included the unlimited first class flights but also earned the holders frequent flyer miles on every flight and lifetime entry to Admirals’ clubs and American VIP lounges. Adjusted for inflation, the 2019 price of these tickets would be $570,000. In need of quick cash, the company established a program that allowed a passenger to buy a lifetime of unlimited first class flights via the AAirpass for a one time fee of $250,000 with a companion ticket available for $150,000.
The company posted a $76 million loss in the year 1980. The Airline Deregulation Act of 1978, a law that was arguably quite beneficial to the consumer, was not quite as beneficial for American Airlines’ bottom line. The early 1980’s were a time of difficulty for American Airlines. “We thought originally it would be something that firms would buy for top employees…it soon became apparent the public was smarter than we were.” Bob Crandall, American Airlines CEO & Chairman 1985-1998
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