READING
The Ultimate Frequent Flyer
Jack Vroom, an American businessman from Dallas, Texas,
has made a claim as the ultimate frequent flyer. (–––– 1 ––––)
Even more amazingly, he did this without paying for any of
the
flights. But after having flown enough times to go
round the world
1,600 times, Mr. Vroom has now been
banned from flying on American
Airlines.
Mr. Vroom’s adventure began in 1988, when a friend told
him about
a unique opportunity. American Airlines was
selling an unlimited, life-long
first-class travel pass called
the AAirpass. For a fee of $350,000 plus
interest, the
ticket-holder and one companion could fly first-class
anywhere, whenever they wanted, and as much as they
wanted.
(–––– 2 ––––) Although they were expensive,
American Airlines sold
a total of 40 tickets before they
stopped issuing them in 2004.
The pass was designed mostly for business use, but Jack
Vroom
decided to use it all the time. (–––– 3 ––––) He would
fly across
the US to watch his son play football in college, or
to pick up
his father-in-law from Washington DC so he could
babysit his
children. He told friends it was cheaper than
paying for a local
babysitter. He would also go abroad, too,
often just for a few
hours. He flew to Milan to pick up some
parts for a motorbike
and to Guadalajara, Mexico, just to
buy some belts. (–––– 4 ––––)
All the crew at his local airport
knew him by name, and he didn’t
even have to show his
pass to anyone.
His adventure came to anend, though, in 2009 on a flight
back
from London. He had used his companion pass to fly
his daughter’s
friend back to the US, but when they arrived
at Heathrow airport,
Mr. Vroom was taken to the VIP lounge
and was given a letter saying
he could never use the
ticket again. (–––– 5 ––––) When they
checked who he was
flying with, they noticed he booked trips with
people he had
never flown with before. They also noticed he would
fly to
far-away destinations in Europe and Asia but only stay for a
few
hours. They accused him of selling his companion
ticket, which was
against the rules. His frequent flying was
also costing the airline
millions of dollars a year.
Mr. Vroom disagrees with the decision and believes there
was
nothing written anywhere which said he wasn’t
allowed to gain
compensation from his companion ticket.
He believes that any
money made was for his business
services or simply because
friends wanted to pay him for
These days, Mr. Vroom stays on
the ground, working as a
teacher and giving lectures in his house
in Dallas.