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Originally Posted by socrates
Besides as already noted (TA's to receive a small "booking fee")
The "fee" that TAs receive these days is from the customer, not the airline. So while the GDS distribution costs the airline a bit the TA commission no longer does.
I also think that the 50% thing is vastly overstated on FT in terms of impact on the traveling public. Most folks barely care at all about the miles and the status. CO changed it because of UA and that's fine and some folks here will benefit, but I firmly believe that they were not losing business in a significant enough capacity with the policy in place for it to have been bad for them.