Four years after the first wave of airline commission cuts, Midwest
Express has taken its place in line behind its big brothers and
capped commissions at -- let's all say it together, like a mantra
-- $50 roundtrip, $25 one-way, on a base rate of 8%. Too bad,
Midwest Express. You used to be the cool, punk-rock airline. Now
you're just another Spice Girl.
There is some debate in the retailer community about whether a
box for a ticketing agency's service fee should be included on the
faces of air tickets. Such a feature would make reporting service
fees through the Airlines Reporting Corp. easier; it might also
reveal to airlines how much agents are charging in service fees,
thus giving airlines ammo if they choose to further reduce
commissions. Retailers generally agree, however, that it would be
good for morale if tickets had a box labeled "check here if you're
ticked off about not making any money on this ticket."