Minneapolis, MN – A rabbi who says Northwest Airlines kicked him out of its frequent-flier program for complaining too much can pursue a class action, the 9th Circuit ruled Friday.
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The federal appeals panel in Pasadena reversed a lower court and moved Rabbi S. Binyomin Ginsberg’s bad-faith lawsuit against the airline forward, finding that a federal deregulation law does not pre-empt a common-law contract claim.
After being dismissed from the Northwest’s WorldPerks frequent-flier program, Ginsberg filed a class action against the airline, now part of Delta, two years ago in California’s Southern District. He claimed that Northwest had “revoked his membership arbitrarily because he complained too frequently about the services,” according to the ruling.
U.S. District Judge Janis Sammartino dismissed the case, finding that the Airline Deregulation Act (ADA) pre-empted the rabbi’s contract claims. The three-judge appellate panel disagreed, reversing unanimously and cautioning the lower court that the virtues of deregulation do not trump the common law.
the only thing I found strange it that if he complained so much why not just fly another airline
Poor rabbi!
When it comes to flying my only hope & expectation is to arrive safely. If I arrive on time it’s a bonus. If my luggage gets to the same airport as me, nuch besser. If it gets there the same time I do, then wow! With that attitude there should be no complaints.
He is a yeshiva consultant and former principle. He encorages more open comunication between faculty and parents in places where everything is condesending and top secret. He also teaches Rebbi’s and principles tricks with a positive reenforcement and open comunication slant.
He flies very often and is now teaching the airlines a lesson.
As a parent, he is a breath of fresh air.
First of all ,this Rabbi Ginsberg is a famous mechanech and gives xcelent parenting classes all over the world, so he is a frq flyer. He writes a chinuch article every weeek in the Yated. He once told me the NW airlines story, it wasn’t becuase of “complaining too much” It was bcse he figured out how to get bupmed from flights and allways travel for free. it wasnt illegal but they didnt like it, thats the reason. search the case on google Ginsberg v. Northwest, Inc
Northwest is a horrible airline. When my Grandmother was nifter I called a few airlines explaining that I needed the first flight from the West coast to NY in order to get there in time for the funeral. Northwest told me they had a “direct flight” leaving within the hour, and charged me a bereavement fare of $1,200. I was little preoccupied and didn’t ask many questions. I plunked the money down. Long story short, I sat in Minnesota for 5 hours while the funeral went forward without me, because the flight from the west coast to NY was “direct,” it just wasn’t NON-Stop … The airline didn’t even apologize as they explained to me why they were right. I don’t fly Northwest anymore.
I am so sick and tired of being treated like garbage on these airlines and i have NEVER EVER complained. i have endured lost luggage, having my febrile baby’s meds tossed out, hateful looks for carrying a baby on bored, rolled eyes for asking for an extra napkin, damaged strollers that were stowed at the gate, angry threats from flight attendants that my toilet training in process 2 year old (for whom we paid just as much for his seat as any other passenger on the plane) uses the bathroom too much (3 times on a five hour flight) and is disturbing other passengers by getting up too much etc. it’s not like i have a choice- to fly via air travel or what? private jet? good for him. he’s taking a stand. and be clear- class action means hundreds of people have incurred the same treatment as he has.
What kind of complaints was he making? I have seen people rightfully kicked out of resturants for habitually complaining. Some customers become to difficult to please and are not worth servicing them.
I hope that his lawsuit is successful. The airline industry has abused passengers for decades; the FAA, and the U.S. Transportation Department is aware of these abuses, but in most cases, looks the other way. Flight crews bring on many of the so called “air rage” incidents, by treating passengers with contempt. In the 1950’s and 1960’s, the flight crews would treat airline passenges like royalty. Today, passengers are treated worse than dogs. The animals in the cargo compartment are treated more humanely, than the passengers.
For years the only airline that I could use for many routes (because of where I live) was, as we call it, NorthWORST. Also, because of where I live, they often cancelled many of the feeder flights I needed to get home and just expected you to continue to wait around the MPS-STP airport. When a 2 hour layover became a 6 hour layover, I asked for a food voucher and they refused and told me to pay for food. I told them to check my ticket – I was on a flight home from Vegas. I told her that I lost all of my money there and could not buy food. Then, and only then, were we given a voucher – that barely covered a cup of coffee and a muffin. I wrote the corporate office a letter about the terrible service and told them that NEVER again would fly with them. Some chochem in their offices sent me a free drink voucher to use on my next flight. It is no wonder they were bought out. I haven’t flown Delta recently but always enjoyed them. Hopefully my feeder flights will now be serviced in a far better fashion.
Northwest is the pits, but there is more to this story than just a reasonable passenger complaining about bad service.