Fees fracas: there's been a lot of chatter about fees that the airlines charge and how to calculate them. But that kafuffle overlooks the fact that some on-line travel sites charge you fees to make a booking, fees that get you the right to pay more fees to the airline. So with the slump in on-line bookings as the sagging economy takes its toll, does anyone online care? Well, yes. Expedia, the on-line travel agency, eliminated its booking fee for airline tickets sold by May 31, while Travelocity waited a few days and then matched them. They must be very nice people there...or perhaps this is just a recognition of the reality that most people use these sites as a reference, cruising through to find out what an airline is charging and then going to the airline website itself to save the booking fees. Tom Botts, a travel industry veteran who blogs at Hudson Crossing, says, "This is a seismic change for the on-line travel agency industry."
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