Page 6 - Frequent Flyer Programs News Today

Rigged? >> this presents a shred of doubt on whether or not it was a cinderella story. >> the mob may have been behind one of the most legendary matches every delta overhauling their frequent flyer programs. soon, the biggest spenders will get the biggest perks. the second hour of "newsroom" starts now. good morning. im carol costello. thanks so much for joining me. in arizona, the deadline grows nearer. the anger grows louder. the pressure building on governor jan brewer to veto a bill th...

Merge their operations. today is administrative and business side of things and two carriers will operate separately. you will see u.s. airways planes and frequent flyer programs. they will gradually disappear like we have seen but not for a year or so. today american comes out of bankruptcy. senior management changes and combined carrier trades on the nasdaq as one company. the department of justice said it would mean higher ticket prices and less competition. the lawsuit was dropped after amer...

Nobody speaks english. a spokesman for the republican governor says he condemned the remarks. >> former president bill clinton is speaking out about those critical comments he made about obama care last month. mr. clinton criticized president obama for his promise if you like your plan you can keep it. on tuesday, he set the record straight on what was or was not behind those remarks. >> is it because you are setting the way for mrs. clinton to run? and seconds, are the problems with obama care ...

Case, too. the members of the court appeared split over it. lets bring in our senior legal analyst, jeffrey toobin. how unusual is a case like this going before the justices? >> why i love this case is supreme court cases are usually about abstractions and complex ideas. i think everyone can understand this, which is how much can frequent flyer programs run the show? is this like a contract you have with an airline? or can they simply say, you know what? we changed our mind. its like a discoun...

Wanted and rules put in place during airline deregulation in the late 70s said northwest could not be sued over services. northwest attorney paul clement said they should not be forced to haggle over things in court. you cannot run an airline if every one of your judgments about take an unruly passenger off or abusive customer is going to be second guessed by a jury. frequent flyer programs have partners. lots of hotels, rental car companies and many other brands that feed into the programs. but...

And theyre cutting back dramatically. why? >> you know what it is? i think they have a huge liability hanging over their heads. theyre looking to basically eliminate the liability. frequent flyer programs were before deregulatio. now when you fly to l.a. it was $300. it might be $1700. some of the frequent flyer programs are actually turning into revenue programs based on the price of the ticket, not the miles flown. thats how theyre going to determine whether youre valuable or not. >> neil: wha...

Its unlikely the government is going to stop this. this merge is more like united, continental, which under the observe administration was approved as well as delta northwest. they didnt create the monopoly markets people feared -- >> my wife turned to me and says whats going to happen to our frequent flyer miles. i said probably nothing because theyd be hit with a myriad of lawsuits. >> exactly. you wouldnt want to kill the goose. those frequent flyer programs are the golden egg for airlines. a...

Coming years. the big question, what does this mean for travelers? well more flight options on the east coast first and foremost where us airways already has a strong presence but fewer choices analysts tell us between major carriers will most likely spell out higher fares for you and me. >> the smaller the city, the smaller the regional and no competition you will see higher, much higher air fares, but look at jetblues, virgin americas, frontiers, spirits of the world, in those markets were see...

They are up 34% in the last year. they have an old fleet. they are upgrading. it will be young in two or three years. in the meantime, they are getting squeeze and ultimately too much for america and thats why they went into bankruptcy. >> what are does it mean for the pilots union now that they have bankruptcy protection? >> they couldnt work out a deal and they will work out a deal inside of bankruptcy and it will likely be a deal that neither is crazy about. that is what will happen in chapte...

What do you think the chances are heading into 2012 and the heated nature of politics that there will be real immigration reform before the presidential election? >> well, were hopeful something will happen soon. i was beneficiary of immigration reform and control act in 1986 and i know many others will benefit and be able to contribute and give back to our community given the opportunity. >> texas state congresswoman ana hernandez luna, thanks for taking the time to be with us. >> thanks for ha...