Barring another terrorist attack or economic swoon, US Airways should keep flying through that Christmas visit to the in-laws, travel experts said Monday.

After that, they said, the future is less clear.

US Airways says it is honoring tickets, and plans to emerge from bankruptcy reorganization early next year as a leaner, profitable airline. Many passengers received an e-mail from US Airways President David Siegel on Monday assuring them the airline would continue operating its frequent-flier program.

Travel experts agreed Monday travelers would notice few changes in the next few months. But they said passengers should be cautious about buying tickets for flights more than six months ahead.

“The (airline) industry has not been in such dire straits,” said Tim Winship, publisher of the frequentflier.com newsletter. “You have to be careful. I think (US Airways) can get through the next six months. I don’t see anything that should torpedo them.”

A day after it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, passengers looked at all the angles.

Gary Silverstein said some clients called his Mann Travel agency in Charlotte, N.C., Monday asking about switching carriers. Others talked about canceling their flights, wondering if the airline would stay in business.

“They were much more concerned that I thought they’d be,” Silverstein said. “This is a positive for US Airways. This is a way to keep them flying into the city.”

Rafael Emmanuelli, a computer trainer from Tampa, Fla., said he’s holding off buying tickets to see his brother in Charlotte at Thanksgiving to see if the airline might lower fares.

“I know it’s kind of a gamble,” he said.

For those who collect miles as part of US Airways’ Dividend Miles program, the track record of recent airline bankruptcies is good, experts said.

The last major airline frequent-flier plan to fail was Midway in 1991, experts said. Continental Airlines and America West kept their frequent-flier programs intact during bankruptcy protection filings, while American Airlines took on TWA frequent-flier members as part of its purchase of TWA last year.

“Dividend miles are the most valuable part of US Airways,” said Joe Brancatelli, an online travel columnist.

And it’s possible US Airways could offer more to keep fliers from landing on other carriers, including fare sales. (US Airways announced a fare sale to Denver Monday.)

Plus, US Airways said it still plans to share flight reservations and frequent-flier programs with United Airlines. But United is considered a bankruptcy filing candidate itself.

“There are no guarantees,” said Paul Hudson, president of Aviation Consumer Action Project, a Washington watchdog group. “People need to be cautious and protect themselves.”

One way passengers could have sought some protection is gone-travel insurance. Two major travel insurers _ American Access and TravelGuard-stopped issuing policies Sunday that would have protected US Airways ticketholders in any shutdown. Passengers can still buy policies to insure against other unexpected events, such as a death in the family.

Mark Cooper, the Consumer Federation of America’s research director, believes a leaner US Airways will cut unprofitable flights. He also said they could consider restrictions to the frequent-flier program to save money.

“They need to do everything they can to squeeze profit,” he said.

US Airways officials provided no new details Monday on how the airline would change or cut back flights.

Randy Petersen, who runs AwardGuard, which offers insurance for frequent-flier miles, said his office was busy Monday fielding calls from worried US Airways and United frequent-flier program members.

“It’s way too early to push the panic button,” he said. “There’s no danger that over the next 90 days they won’t honor the program. They have enough cash and promises and enough white knights for 90 days. After 90 days, there’s a little bit of danger.”

(c) 2002, The Charlotte Observer (Charlotte, N.C.).

Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Information Services.