American Airlines Class Action Filed Over Downgraded Travel Passes

Former American Airlines flight attendants claim that the company breached its contract with them when it downgraded their travel pass privileges.

Plaintiffs Suzette Janoff and Jenise Rusby say they were flight attendants for American Airlines in 1995 when the company announced its Special Voluntary Early Out Program (SVEOP).

The plaintiffs claim that the company breached its contract by reducing the value of one of the promised benefits of the program, which was a promise of free flight passes for the duration of an individual’s life.

Janoff and Rusby state that the program gave flight attendants special benefits to terminate their employment with American Airlines even though the employees were too young to retire and collect normal retirement benefits. Allegedly, through the program, employees would receive “specified cash payments, a pension enhancement, retiree medical benefits, life insurance, and travel privileges” if they chose to terminate their employment within a specified time frame.

Allegedly, between 320 and 450 employees agreed to participate in the SVEOP program, based on the promised benefits they received. These American Airlines employees reportedly made the decision to participate because they believed it to be a wise decision for themselves based on information given, and the promise that the benefits would not change.

The American Airlines class action lawsuit claims that the “travel privileges” included travel passes, which would allow the former employees to fly on American Airlines planes for free if there was an empty seat available on a flight. The travel passes are allegedly tiered, with D-1 passes receiving priority over D-2 passes — the two former employees state that the SVEOP program promised a participant a limited number of D-1 passes and unlimited D-2 passes, as well as flight pass use for families of former employees.

The American Airlines travel pass class action lawsuit states that under the terms and conditions of the SVEOP, the program participants’ flight passes would function the same as those of current American Airlines employees, citing a Terms and Conditions document that reads that “[i]f the procedures change in the future for active employees, they will also change for you.”

Allegedly, American Airlines broke its contract in 2014, when the company downgraded the travel passes of the SVEOP participants (and non-SVEOP former employees) to a new category of flight passes — D-2R. This category was of lower priority than D-2 passes. Allegedly, “by making this change, [American Airlines] made it much more difficult for [former employees] to use their passes on desirable flights.”

Janoff and Rusby state that in many cases, unsold seats had run out by the time individuals with D-2R flight passes were offered seats. According to the American Airlines travel pass class action lawsuit, this change decreased the value of the SVEOP program and was a breach of contract. Janoff and Rusby seek damages for themselves and all similarly affected SVEOP participants.

The plaintiffs are represented by Charles R. Virginia, Marc. A. Tenenbaum, and Nicole Marimon of Virginia & Ambinder LLP.

The American Airlines Travel Pass Contract Breach Class Action Lawsuit is Suzette Janoff, et al. v. American Airlines Inc., Case No. 1:18-cv-02653, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York.