Delta raises fares for some corporate travelers

NEW YORK - Delta Air Lines is raising the cost of airfare for business travelers by not allowing corporate discounts on certain reduced fares.

Delta's decision mirrors the action in November by Northwest Airlines, which no longer lets corporate clients use their discount when purchasing cheap fares aimed at leisure travelers.

Corporate travel managers who received notice of the change from Delta said today that it probably would not go into effect until August. A spokeswoman for Atlanta-based Delta refused to comment on the change, which was first reported by industry publication Business Travel News.

Analysts said Delta is likely responding to the changing habits of business fliers, who have been buying cheaper fares by purchasing in advance, agreeing to strict travel conditions and using sophisticated software to search databases used by travel agents. They are also doing more comparison shopping over the Internet.

To be sure, business travelers always spend less during an economic downturn. But the bargain hunting of corporate fliers these days is more widespread -- a reaction, analysts said, to a ticket-pricing model in which business-class fares cost several times more than leisure-class fares.