Airline Reward Programs Pay Off Less Frequently

By JOE SHARKEY
Published: May 31, 2010

FOR participants in frequent-flier programs, more miles are chasing fewer seats, and the problem is likely to get worse.

In April, the five so-called legacy carriers (Delta, United, American, Continental and US Airways) averaged domestic load factors of 85 percent, which measures how many seats on airplanes are occupied by paying customers.

Southwest Airlines reported a load factor of 78.8 percent in April. That brought the overall average down a bit for the top six carriers. But no matter how you do the math and as every frequent flier knows, an empty seat is as rare a sight as a free meal on most domestic flights.

Tens of Thousands Protest Arizona’s Immigrant Law

by James Parks, May 29, 2010

Tens of thousands of people of conscience from across the nation converged on the Arizona state capitol today in Phoenix for a national day of action against that state’s infamous anti-immigrant law, also known as S.B. 1070.

Chanting “Stop Racism in Arizona,” protestors marched five miles in the hot desert sun to the capitol in one of the largest demonstrations yet against this law. S.B. 1070 allows police to stop and question anyone they have “reasonable suspicion” of being undocumented. The law does not define “reasonable suspicion,” a fact that many opponents say is carte blanche for racial profiling.