Southwest Airlines to slash commissions

Southwest Airlines, the most popular low-cost carrier in the U.S., announced its decision to stop paying commissions to travel agencies beginning on December 15, a move that would allow the company to sock away as many as $40 million every year, sources close to the front office informed.

In recent months, Southwest had become the nation’s number one airline as far as the number of flown passengers is concerned, featuring operations in the neighborhood of 2,800 flights to 58 cities in 30 states every day.