I don’t know about you, but for me, I think the ultimate in travel luxury would be a lifetime pass, or its equivalent, to something. Walt Disney World sold such things to select visitors and associates in the 1970s and 1980s, and Disneyland has been known to give them out to “significant” guests (i.e., the first guest, the 100,000,000th guest, the first child born at DL, etc.). They also considered an “ultimate pass” at one time, which would have been good at WDW and DL. It wouldn’t have been for a lifetime though – “just” for 25 years. The U.S. National Park Service used to offer a Golden Age Passport that got seniors free entry for life into U.S. national parks, but they discontinued the program in 2007 (it was replaced with the America The Beautiful pass, which used to cost $10 but went up to $80 in 2017).
I think the most valuable would be a lifetime pass to an airline – and there used to be such a thing.
American Airlines’ “AAirpass”
In the early 1980s, American Airlines was strapped for cash, so they decided to start selling passes that gave unlimited first-class travel for life. Dubbed AAirpasses, the cost was $250,000 (remember that’s in the early 1980s, when the average round-trip domestic flight was not quite $600). $250k in today’s money is just shy of $1 million, and you could buy a companion ticket for an additional $150k. The lifetime ticket increased to $600,000 in 1990, and just over $1 million in 1993. The airline ended sales of the unlimited passes in 1994, except for a one-time offer in the 2004 Neiman Marcus Christmas catalog, at a price of $3 million for the pass and $2 million for a companion pass. None of those were sold, by the way.
Not surprisingly, some people took more advantage of that American Airlines ticket than would be expected. According to the Los Angeles Times in 2012,
“We thought originally it would be something that firms would buy for top employees,” said Bob Crandall, American’s chairman and chief executive from 1985 to 1998. “It soon became apparent that the public was smarter than we were.”
The unlimited passes were bought mostly by wealthy individuals, including baseball Hall-of-Famer Willie Mays, America’s Cup skipper Dennis Conner and computer magnate Michael Dell.
Mike Joyce of Chicago bought his in 1994 after winning a $4.25-million settlement after a car accident.
In one 25-day span this year, Joyce flew round trip to London 16 times, flights that would retail for more than $125,000. He didn’t pay a dime.
“I love Rome, I love Sydney, I love Athens,” Joyce said by phone from the Admirals Club at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York. “I love Vegas and Frisco.”
(BTW, I highly recommend reading the whole Los Angeles Times article about American Airlines’ investigations into some of the people who bought and “overused” these lifetime passes, if you get a chance – it’s fascinating)
Also – FUN FACT! Mark Cuban bought an AAirpass while he was “drunk shopping” – click here to hear THAT fun story.
United Airlines’ Lifetime Pass
United had its own version of a lifetime pass back in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Probably one of their most famous people who took them up on the offer was New Jersey car dealer Tom Stuker, who bought a pass for $290k in 1990 and has since traveled more than anyone else in history (100 countries and counting, and has saved somewhere around $3 million in flights and fees).
Stuker readily admits that getting this pass was one of the best things he ever bought. It’s helped him travel the world countless times, of course. But since you can use the frequent flyer miles you earn for more than just flights, the miles he’s traveled have also earned him fancy shmancy hotel suites, cruises, gift cards that he used to redo his brother’s house, and even earned him a guest spot on a “Seinfeld” episode (it’s the one where George’s fiancée dies from licking envelopes. Stuker can be seen in the diner.)
JetBlue’s “All You Can Jet” pass
Photo via Swiss-Miss.com
JetBlue has occasionally sold “All You Can Jet” deals, which allowed you to travel as much as you wanted during a certain period of time. Choices included $699 for 30 days of unlimited travel or $499 for 30 days of unlimited travel (excluding Fridays and Saturdays). They haven’t made any of those types of tickets available since around 2010, but in late 2017, JetBlue ran a contest giving away 3 AYCJ tickets valid from early 2018 to early 2019.
OneGo
The only company in recent years to offer any truly “unlimited” nationwide travel pass was OneGo. Described as “Netflix for flights” by Business Insider ;-), OneGo launched in early 2016 as a subscription flight service that had connections (you see what I did there?) with 76 airlines serving over 700 routes across the U.S.
For a $450 startup fee and then a monthly fee, you could fly “unlimited”:
- $1,500 per month to fly anywhere on the West Coast
- $1,950 per month to fly above the central states
- $2,300 per month to fly anywhere on the East Coast
- $2,950 per month to fly anywhere across the U.S.
Of course, “unlimited” turned out to come with a whole lot of caveats—when you could book or change flights, how many upcoming flights you could have on record at the same time, etc. OneGo got a lot of good press when it first started, but in researching for this article, I found a few articles from miles & points blogs that described firsthand experiences with the company (One Mile At A Time was one of them).
I went to OneGo’s website in 2018 and got this:
When I went to their site in 2019, I got this:
Welp, so much for that. Whomp whomp.
Anyway, nowadays the site is available via GoDaddy.
There are a few small, membership-only companies that offer private, charter flights for a reduced price, but they don’t offer flights on commercial airlines.
So there you have it. Apparently, “lifetime passes” (or “monthtime passes”) are pretty much a thing of the past, or at least are available about as often as people win the lottery ;-). Granted, they were a whole lot of money, but in offering anything “unlimited,” the company can’t sustain what they originally offered—or runs the risk of customers pushing the line of that unlimitedness. That’s probably why none of those “unlimited” tickets are still for sale today.
Pity.
Passes available today
Although true “unlimited flights for the rest of your life” passes haven’t been available for decades, a handful of airlines are still offering some form of “fly a lot, but not truly unlimited” passes:
Frontier’s “Go Wild!” pass
Frontier has also been offering (I guess what you could call a “seasonal”) unlimited pass for the past couple of years. They even cut the price of it by 50% not long ago, but the value of the pass, especially now, is becoming more and more questionable.
Alaska Airlines’ Flight Pass
It’s not truly “unlimited,” but Alaska Airlines offers a Flight Pass in the form of a subscription-based membership that’ll grant you access to up to 24 roundtrips each year among 15 destinations in California, Arizona, Nevada and Utah.
Wizz Air’s All You Can Fly pass
Wizz Air, a European low-cost carrier, currently offers the Wizz All You Can Fly pass. This annual pass allows users to book an unlimited number of flights for a set fee. But there are some limitations to the pass. Users must pay a small fee per flight booked with the pass, and flights are only bookable three days in advance. The pass only includes a personal item, with additional fees for extras like bags and seat selection.
Air Canada’s Flight Pass
Air Canada’s flight pass system is not the same as the “flight pass” that AA and United used to offer. The airline offers unlimited flight passes based on specific zones and destinations. With prices starting at $1,389 per month, they don’t allow mixing and matching of routes, so users are limited to a single flight path. This option is particularly suitable for business travelers or students who regularly commute between two locations.
Porter Airlines’ Porter Pass
Porter Airlines, a Canadian carrier, provides the Porter Pass as part of its VIPorter loyalty program. The pass starts at C$129 (about $93.65 USD) per flight and comes in the form of prepaid flight credits, available in bundles of 10, 20, 50, or 100. These credits are valid for 365 days after purchase. The program allows users to mix and match flight paths and share credits with others, offering flexibility for frequent travelers.
Air Tahiti’s Multi-Island Pass
If you’re planning an extended trip to French Polynesia, Air Tahiti’s Multi-Islands Pass can provide some nice savings. By bundling multiple island destinations, travelers can explore more of the region at a reduced cost.
The passes range from the basic Discovery Pass, covering Moorea, Huahine, and Raiatea, to more comprehensive options like the Bora Tuamotu Max Pass. The latter includes access to Moorea, Huahine, Raiatea, Bora Bora, Maupiti, Rangiroa, Tikehau, and Fakarava. The variety of pass options allows visitors to tailor their island-hopping experience to their preferences and time constraints.
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