When you are furloughed from an airline, you typically continue to receive pass benefits for a certain amount of time. I knew of flight attendent who was furloughed from TWA, now American, in 2003, and her pass benefits ran out this year. I was also on a flight from DEN-SFO and was sitting next to a furloughed United pilot in first class. He obviously still gets pass benefits with the same boarding priority (BP-8A), and that means you must only pay the small service charge (About 1 penny a mile for coach).

Not sure how this changes from airline to airline, but I am sure that at United and American, you get the same pass benefits you would if you were still employeed.