A grounded frequent flier complains all the way to the Supreme Court

Years ago there was a popular series of novels featuring a rabbi who solved crimes. The first in the series was called “Friday the Rabbi Slept Late,” and the titles of subsequent installments also played on days of the week (“Saturday the Rabbi Went Hungry,” “Sunday the Rabbi Stayed Home” etc.).

On Tuesday, the Supreme Court heard arguments in a case that, were it turned into a book, might be called “Friday the Rabbi Was Grounded.” It concerned a lawsuit against Northwest Airlines (since absorbed by Delta) by S. Binyomin Ginsberg, a Minneapolis rabbi and educational consultant who was kicked out of the airline’s Platinum Elite division of its frequent-flier club. Northwest said the rabbi abused the program by constantly complaining — about two dozen times in seven months — and by reserving seats on planes he knew were full so that he would be “bumped.”

(Apparently the rabbi’s complaining did some good. According to the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, “in 2007 the airline compensated Ginsberg with nearly $2,000 in travel vouchers, 78,500 bonus miles for future flights and $491 for a lost bag.”)

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It didn’t look too good for the rabbi after the Supreme Court arguments. Though a couple of justices were sympathetic, a majority of the court seemed inclined to terminate his claim that Northwest violated an “implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing” when it bounced him from Premium Elite. They seemed receptive to Northwest’s argument that the lawsuit was preempted by a 1978 federal law that protects airlines against suits by customers over routes, rates and services.

Ginsberg had to argue that he had implied rights under his contract with Northwest because the actual language of the frequent-flier deal said that a decision to cancel a member’s account was left to the airline’s “sole judgment.”

Which raises a question for Congress. The next time it considers an “airline passengers bill of rights,” maybe it should add a provision requiring that airlines introduce a modicum of due process into frequent-flier agreements. High-fliers like the rabbi should be able to defend themselves before they’re grounded.

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