(CNN) -- If you're a member of Delta Air Lines' frequent flyer program, you may have some extra miles coming to you.

Delta expects court approval in January for settlement of a class action suit filed against the airline 10 years ago. Under the terms of the settlement, frequent flyer members who had at least 40,000 miles before July 1988 are due a package of benefits.

The long-lived lawsuit was launched after Delta enacted capacity controls -- that is, restrictions on frequent flyer mile usage and seat availability -- making frequent flyer rewards harder to redeem. The lawsuit claimed the airline had not adequately informed frequent flyers of the rules change.

"I think (the settlement) infers that frequent flyers do have rights," said Randy Petersen, publisher/editor of InsideFlyer magazine. "A lot of people assume the airlines can change their rules at will ... but that's not so."

Chris McGinnis, CNN business travel consultant, said the settlement package would offer either a coupon for a discount on a future flight or a certain number of frequent flyer miles to be redeemed on future flights.

Petersen recommended taking the miles. "They'll go into your account, and you can go to Hawaii for free," he said.

Many travelers haven't even read the Delta statements on the issue that have been mailed to them, let alone filled out the claim form to join the class action suit.

Even those who receive miles from the settlement may find it difficult to use them. There are now 22 million SkyMiles members, all vying for the same number of free seats as were available 10 years ago.

Based on a report from CNN's Business and Travel and Beyond. The segment appears weekdays on Early Edition at 7 AM (ET) and on Morning News at 10 AM (ET).