Aboard airlines, cash remains king

Posted 23/08/2011

If a judge had ruled differently, all airlines would have had to re-consider their cashless policy, but carriers avoided that fate when a state Superior Court judge dismissed a lawsuit challenging the legality of Continental Airlines' "cashless cabin."

Not enough evidence was presented to make a case under state statutes, ruled Judge Denise Cobham in a hearing in Newark. He threw out a lawsuit bought by Michael W. Rosen, denying a claim that Continental’s policy to take only credit or debit cards for onboard charges was discriminatory.

"The plaintiff has not shown me the policy is unreasonable or that he was not informed of it," she said, according to the AP.

Rosen's request to make the complaint a class action by certifying that numerous people who did not have debit or credit cards may have been harmed by the policy was also dismissed.

The lawsuit stemmed from a well-publicized January 2010 flight from Hawaii to Newark.  Rosen tried to use a headset he bought on a previous Continental flight to watch movies and listen to music. He needed to buy a jack to use the headset but the cost was $3 and he could not pay with a credit card because it was in checked baggage.

Rosen said afterward that he disagreed with the judge's decisions to dismiss the bulk of the complaint and that he may appeal.

The issue brings up the question of why airlines don’t want cash.

“One reason that most airlines don’t accept cash is to make things easier for flight attendants, who find it a hassle to have to make change or account for cash,” answered The Economist.

By David Wilkening

Originally published 23 Aug 2011 at: http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/398/f/5923/s/1795cc17/l/0L0Stravelmole0N0Cstories0C11490A540Bphp0Dmpnlog0F1/story01.htm