The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit concluded the case involving frequent flyer Rabbi Ginsberg, granting Northwest’s motion to dismiss the case. As reported earlier by InsideFlyer, Rabbi Ginsberg filed a case against Northwest Airlines after he was stripped of his Northwest WorldPerks Platinum status in 2008 for allegedly complaining too much. Northwest regarded Rabbi Ginsberg’s complaints excessive and an abuse of the frequent flyer program.

Bottom line: Rabbi Ginsberg will not receive damages for the loss of his Platinum status and the court recommends that members of frequent flyer programs turn to the Department of Transportation to investigate and act on consumer complaints.

The court finding includes in part, “Nor are participants in frequent flyer programs left without protection. They can avoid an airline with a poor reputation and possibly enroll in a more favorable rival program.”