Low-fare, low-cost carrier JetBlue eliminated base commission April 25, effective immediately, with the airline`s leader maintaining he made the decision because the carrier wasn`t being helped by paying agents more than its competitors.

“As a low-fare carrier, we need to keep our cost structure as low as possible,” chief executive officer David Neeleman, said. “When our competitors cut commissions, we took a wait-and-see approach to see if our travel agent bookings increased. Over the last month, travel agency bookings actually decreased as a percentage of our overall business.

“Under these circumstances, we couldn`t justify paying the extra expense when our competitors weren`t,” he said.

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