AIRLINES

Delta Caps Travel Agent Commissions: In a move to cut costs at the expense of the nation’s travel agents, the nation’s third-largest carrier said it will immediately cap commissions paid to agents for writing domestic tickets. Delta Air Lines is the first major U.S. airline to abandon the conventional 10% commission paid to agents for booking tickets. The Atlanta-based carrier, like most big airlines, relies on agents to ticket roughly eight of every 10 passengers. The news hit ticket agents like a bombshell, and some suggested that the industry might try to charge the public “transaction fees.” The plan calls for Delta to pay a maximum $50 commission for a round-trip domestic ticket with a base fare of more than $500, and $25 for a one-way ticket with a base fare in excess of $250.