Frequent Flyers, Have No Fear

Maybe you're an elite flyer, spending as much time in airport lounges as you do with your own family. Perhaps you're a miles junkie, willing to drive 150 miles out of your way to earn double points. And now, with US Airways (UAIRQ) entering bankruptcy and Delta Air Lines (DAL) on the brink, you're worried that your big-time status and treasure trove are about to go up in smoke.

Don't worry.

The last thing airlines want to do is alienate their best customers during a time of crisis. Ask anyone who regularly flies United Airlines, whose parent company, UAL (UALAQ), filed the largest bankruptcy in the history of commercial aviation, nearly two years ago. Customers have continued to rack up miles, redeem their rewards and carry on with their lives, unaffected.

"Frequent-flyer programs are a significant marketing tool the airlines want to keep around and utilize to keep customers loyal," said David Stempler, president of the Air Travelers Association. "Even more so in a bankruptcy situation, where you have passengers uneasy about future bookings. Some carriers could even lure travelers with increased frequent-flyer miles."

The most immediate impact of the industry's downturn will be seen in scheduling, especially by Delta's frequent flyers in Texas.

As part of the carrier's restructuring plan, the airline will be eliminating nearly all of its service from Dallas, leaving about two dozen nonstop flights and removing all 200 regional ones. Anyone from Big D looking for a big departure will have to consider a new airport -- but not Lubbock or Amarillo. Delta has completely eliminated all service from those airports.

Dallas-based Delta flyers will lose out, but other flyers will gain, especially in Delta's Atlanta hub. The carrier will be adding more than 60 flights in Atlanta and beefing up schedules in Salt Lake City, Cincinnati and much of the East Coast.