Passenger can due DL over revoked elite status

[737823]

The ruling allows Rabbi S. Binyomin Ginsberg, a Minneapolis clergyman and author of education books, to try to prove that Northwest broke its contract with him by withdrawing his frequent-flier status after nine years in the program.

Ginsberg claimed the airline was punishing him for his complaints about its service and a merger with Delta Air Lines; Northwest told him in an e-mail that it was entitled to decide when a passenger was abusing the frequent-flier program.

The ruling is good news for "anybody who does business with the airlines," said Ginsberg's lawyer, Thatcher Stone. Since the 1978 law passed, he said, "airlines in this country have acted as if they were independent governments with sovereign immunity" from lawsuits.

He declined to say why Ginsberg sued in San Diego. Lawyers for the airline were unavailable for comment.

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/08/05/BAKM1KK57M.DTL#ixzz1UR6qLiW7

This is interesting. There must be more to the story but can't DL make any changes to SkyMiles at anytime, including terminating the program and leaves us with no recourse? If he's been kvetching to DL they probably figure he'd be happier taking his business elsewhere.

Josh

 

[Art at ISP]

I am all for customer advocacy, but something here does not add up. I can't see someone losing status or miles just for complaining or voicing his opinion.
I think there is probably more to this story.

 

[IORFA]

I read another article and it made it sound like this person was kicked out of the program completely, not that he just lost some sort of "status". I could have misread the article, though.

 

[gizmo_sc]

REFERENCE POST : PASSENGER can DUE DL over revoked elite status:

It has been on airliners.net for few days with alot of post:

http://www.airliners.net/aviation-forums/general_aviation/read.main/5226666/?threadid=5226666&searchid=5227537&s=rabbi#ID5227537

 

[SparrowHawk]

I am all for customer advocacy, but something here does not add up. I can't see someone losing status or miles just for complaining or voicing his opinion.
I think there is probably more to this story.

Let us not forget our not so beloved US Frequent Flyer Jeffrey Gitomer and his well documented conduct.

For me the key take away here is not the relative merits of the Rabbi's specific complaints but rather that the 9th's ruling makes it easier for all customers to sue in state courts and that is a victory for consumers. If the 9th's ruling withstands appeal and I think it will then the good Rabbi has done all customers a great service in bringing this lawsuit, individual merits notwithstanding.