For elite travelers, bad news means good times.

Nineteen months into the current recession, the airlines have cut back flights to compensate for fallen demand, reducing their potential revenues in the process. But they've also had to cut ticket prices to keep those fewer jets flying full, further undermining profitability.

Under normal circumstances, the current ratio of seat supply to consumer demand would be considered optimal. June load factors for the nine largest U.S. airlines averaged 84.7 percent, exceptionally high by historical standards. Yet, according to the Air Transport Association, an industry trade group representing U.S. airlines, ticket revenues plunged 26 percent in May, the latest month for which data were available, although capacity was down less than 10 percent.

This points to another problem: the erosion of passengers willing and able to pay for first- and business-class seats. Reflecting an industry-wide trend, British Airways reported that its premium traffic plummeted 14.9 percent in June, compared with just a 1.3 percent dip in non-premium traffic.

Although premium passengers occupy only a small percentage of an airline's seats, the pricey tickets they buy can account for as much as 50 percent of a carrier's revenue. That, in essence, is the economic calculation behind the airlines' current preoccupation with elite members of their frequent flier programs. (Airlines typically award elite status to customers who fly 25,000 or more miles annually.)

No surprise, then, that American Airlines offered double elite-qualifying miles for flights completed between March 18 and June 15, a promotion that spurred similar offers from Continental, Delta, Northwest, United and US Airways.

Such offers recognize that bestowing special status increases the likelihood that a customer will be loyal in future, and elite perks such as upgrades and priority boarding are a small price to pay for the extra revenue flowing from that loyalty.

Not all overtures to elite fliers are so visible. Delta has been quietly doling out elite-qualifying miles to elite members of its SkyMiles program, and to members of Northwest's WorldPerks program, which will be folded into SkyMiles later this year.

One recipient was Julie Nemeth, a Venice, Fla.-based Silver elite who flies around 25,000 miles a year, mostly in connection with her job building water-treatment plants. Delta unexpectedly awarded her almost half the miles required to reach elite status again for next year:

"I received an e-mail they were giving me 10,000 elite-qualifying miles for a 'customer appreciation bonus' and sure enough, I went online and there were the 10,000 miles on my statement!"

The bonuses — which ranged between 5,000 and 15,000 miles — were not awarded to all Delta elites, giving rise to grousing on such online travel forums as FlyerTalk from Delta loyalists who felt neglected.

Why reward some elites and not others?

A Delta representative would only say that "this is one of our 'under the radar' private-offer campaigns ... based on certain internal criteria."

Elite members of American, Delta and United are waived the checked bag fees, which cost travelers $1.15 billion last year.

And of course, the central benefit of elite status gets a boost from the recession. Upgrades to first or business class are easier than ever to come by, as the ranks of premium-class travelers have thinned.