Airline worker sentenced for stealing $600,000 worth of airline tickets and upgrades

Hayes pleaded guilty in June to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. In addition to his work at the air service company, which gave him the opportunity to run the scheme, Hayes is also apparently a musician. His IMDb page, which includes his alias mentioned in the FBI’s announcement of the sentencing, includes work in music videos from Gladys Knight and Brandy.

How the scheme worked

Authorities say Hayes and his co-conspirators began the scheme in January 2017 and ran it through to December 2019. The crew worked at GAT Airline Ground Support, a contractor that provides ticketing and ground support services at Hollywood Burbank Airport and other locations. That gave them access to airline reservation systems for United and Delta. They could also book American flights through airline agreements.

Hayes and his co-conspirators exploited a ticketing accommodation process called “waivers and favors,” which lets customer service employees make special booking changes. Hayes used his access to upgrade tickets, change travel dates and create unauthorized Electronic Travel Coupons, which act as vouchers. All of this was done without charging fees.

Using the alias “Neeve Andrews” (the same one used on his IMDB page), Hayes would sell discounted tickets that had been fraudulently obtained through the reservation system. He also admitted to modifying hundreds of passenger name records and issuing dozens of vouchers.

The high price of travel

While airfare prices today are 11% higher than a year ago, when adjusted for inflation, and traveler frustrations are rising, it actually costs less to take a flight today than it did when Hayes and his associates were running their scheme.

The average U.S. domestic airfare in the second quarter of 2026 came in at $445. In the second quarter of 2017, though, the national average, adjusted for inflation, was nearly $486. In the second quarter of 2018, it landed at $464 after inflation adjustments. And in the second-quarter of 2019, it was $466.

These days, though, airlines are seeing their margins squeezed due to substantially higher fuel costs, which they’re passing along, in part, to passengers via higher ticket prices. American Airlines, for instance, reported record revenues of $16.3 billion in the third quarter of 2026. Despite that, the carrier had a net loss of $269 million.