NEW YORK (CNN/Money) -
Northwest Airlines plans to charge customers $5 to $10 extra for tickets not purchased at its Web site -- a move stirring up controversy in an industry where fare hikes have had trouble flying.
The nation's No. 4 airline said the move is meant to follow low-cost carriers such as Southwest Airlines and JetBlue Airways, which often offer discounts for tickets purchased at their own Web sites.
Northwest will charge a $5 fee for each domestic ticket bought through one of the airline's reservations centers, and $10 for tickets for domestic travel purchased at Northwest airport locations.
The airline also plans to charge travel agents, including online agents, $3.75 for one-way tickets or $7.50 for round-trip tickets booked using a global distribution system (GDS), which is how most agents book tickets.
Northwest said it paid $180 million in GDS fees last year, and that other low-fare carriers have cut costs by shifting more passengers to buying tickets on their Web sites.
The move brought objections from travel agents as well as from Sabre Travel Network, the largest GDS used by agents.
Sabre, which said it would take a series of steps against Northwest, charged the fee is contrary to the letter and the spirit of its agreement with Northwest and other airlines to provide fare parity for Sabre users. Low-fare carriers such as Southwest and JetBlue are not parties to those agreements.
"We feel like this is anti-agent, as well as anti-consumer," said Michael Berman, a spokesman for Sabre.
Northwest said in a statement it was confident the new fare program does not violate its Sabre agreement.
Shares of Sabre Holdings (TSG: down $1.84 to $22.43, Research, Estimates), the parent of Sabre Travel Network, tumbled 10.6 percent in morning trading on the New York Stock Exchange, while Northwest (NWAC: up $0.02 to $9.84, Research, Estimates) stock sank nearly 5 percent.
All of nation's major airlines already charge a fee for passengers who want a traditional paper ticket rather than an e-ticket. But those carriers have had trouble making fare increases stick in recent months, despite rising fuel prices.
Other airlines did not immediately announce plans to follow Northwest's fees.
But United Airlines did say it plans to charge members of its frequent flier program a $15 fee if they use a customer service representative when they cash in miles for tickets.
The fee, which will take effect Oct. 15, would not apply if the ticket was booked using United's Web site. And there would be no fee for frequent fliers who need to use a customer service agent to change a flight booked using miles or fix miles earned but not credited.
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