Press Room :: Chronology of Mileage Redemption/Program Liability Accumulation
Since 1981, when frequent flyer programs originated, members have earned and redeemed miles at an exponentially increasing rate. This chart shows the number of "new" miles that are being pumped into the frequent flyer economy each year, the number of miles that are being redeemed (spent) by members and the resulting outstanding liablity for the programs. Note: these totals do not include award redemption for upgrades or partners.

How to Read this Chart

Year Number of miles awarded by the airlines*
(in billions)
Cumulative awarded miles to date*
(in billions)
Number of miles redeemed by members
(in billions)
Cumulative redeemed miles to date
(in billions)
Cumulative unredeemed miles/program liability to date*
(in billions)
1981 4.1  4.1  1.9  1.9 2.2 
1982 16.8  20.9  12.9  14.8  6.1 
1983 38.3 59.2  28.6 43.4 15.8
1984 65.1 124.3  41.9 85.3 39
1985 94.3 218.6  57.3 142.6 76
1986 123.8 342.4  72.8 215.4 127
1987 163 505.4  81.3 296.7 208.7
1988 282.1 787.5  90.8 387.5 400
1989 337.6 1125.1  120.4 507.9 617.2
1990 394.1 1519.2  133.4 641.3 877.9
1991 443.3 1962.5  155.3 796.6 1165.9
1992 498.8 2461.3  178.6 975.2 1486.1
1993 583 3044.3  202.1 1177.3 1867.1
1994 644 3688.3  278.6 1455.9 2232.4
1995 661 4349.3  284.8 1740.7 2608.6
1996 830 5179.3  255.3 1996 3183.3
1997 980 6159.3  271.8 2267.8 3891.5
1998 1120 7279.3  403 2670.8 4608.5
1999 1290 8569.3  358.8 3029.6 5539.7
2000 1440 10009.3  349.5 3379.1 6630.2
2001 1600 11609.3 341.6 3720.7 7888.6
2002 1646 13255.3 402.9 4123.6 9131.7
2003 1730.6 14985.9 512.8 4636.4 10893.9
2004 2240.1 17226.0 633.6 5270.0 12367.3
2005 2714.1 19940.1 894.9 6164.9 14201.2

*Totals adjusted to reflect expiration of approximately 9-11% of airline miles.
Note: Due to trends in award activity, we estimate that 16-34% of all awards will go unredeemed. This includes expirations.

How to Read This Chart

Column #1 - Number of miles awarded by airlines
The number of miles given away or sold by airline programs in the year specified.
Column #2 - Cumulative number of awarded miles
The total number of miles that have been given away or sold, from 1981 through the specified year. This figure is calculated by adding the previous and current year figures from column #1.
Column #3 - Cumulative number of miles redeemed by members
The number of miles that members of frequent flyer programs redeemed for awards in the year specified.
Column #4 - Cumulative number of redeemed miles
The total number of miles that have been redeemed by members of frequent flyer programs, from 1981 through the specified year. This figure is calculated by adding the previous and current year figures from column #3.
Column #5 - Cumulative number of unredeemed miles/program liability
The total number of miles that have been awarded but not redeemed, from 1981 through the specified year. These unredeemed miles are considered a liability by the airlines. This figure is calculated by subtracting the cumulative number of redeemed miles (column #4) from the cumulative number of awarded miles (column #2).

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