Passenger Claims There Is No Expiration Date On The Coupons

Will this make the Southwest reality show? A man in Illinois is suing the airline because it would not honor drink tickets it said had expired, but which the plaintiff says have no expiration date.

Southwest has handed out hundreds of thousands of the coupons over the years. They have a value of about five dollars, the cost of a drink on the airline.

But the airline changed its policy on drink coupons in 2010, saying they would no longer be good indefinitely. At that time, it began printing expiration dates on the coupons, many of which are only redeemable on a flight that same day. It also published the policy change, saying any undated coupons would expire on September 1, 2011.

Reuters reports that the man, identified as Adam Levitt, said the policy amounts to a breach of contract, and is seeking class-action status for his lawsuit for any Southwest customer who may still be holding a drink ticket with no expiration date. He filed the suit Wednesday in a federal court in Chicago.

Levitt apparently has accumulated 45 free drink coupons over the year of flying on Southwest. He accused Southwest of attempting to improve its bottom line by not making good on the free drink tickets.

FMI: www.ilnd.uscourts.gov