Back in 1995, agents used to collect a straight 10 percent on all plane tickets they sold.
Consumers do have other options.
They can avoid fees by booking directly with an airline by phone or Internet, or by checking out travel Web sites. They can use a consolidator, who sells blocks of leftover seats at cut-rate prices, but a consolidator may be risky to deal with and the ticketing restriction, onerous. Or consumers may elect to stay with a travel agent and pay the fee, which more agencies are expected to start charging. One reason to use a travel agent is to save time. Another is to get the lowest fare.