Rabbi Loses Supreme Court Case Over Frequent Flyer Miles
The Supreme Court has unanimously ruled that an airline customer cannot sue after being thrown out of a frequent flyer program.
The court ruled 9-0 that Rabbi Binyomin Ginsberg cannot pursue his claims against Northwest Airlines, which merged in 2010 with Delta. He sued after he was ousted from Northwest's WorldPerks loyalty program for complaining too often about getting bumped from flights and repeatedly seeking compensation.
The decision (attached below) means airlines have sole discretion to drop frequent flyers.
The court held the federal Airline Deregulation Act barred Ginsberg's lawsuit. The act says states have no say in regulating the price, route or service of an air carrier.
Ginsberg said the airline told him it took action in part because he allegedly sought compensation after booking reservations on full flights, knowing he would be bumped to another flight.
Northwest said he filed 24 complaints and that the contract allowed it to terminate membership for abuse of the program at its sole discretion.