The airline industry incurs much higher costs when a ticket is sold through a travel agent versus when it's sold online. It’s much like what happens in the investment industry. Making a trade with a real broker costs you more than making that trade online. It’s been a dilemma for the nation’s airlines because they want people to buy on the Internet. JetBlue even gives people cheaper fare if they book online. But Northwest is planning to give people a not-so-nice surprise with its latest idea. The airline is going to charge $5 extra for booking over the phone with a human and $10 extra for booking face-to-face with a human. It's the company's way of encouraging people to buy online, but it's just not smart, in Clark’s opinion. Why not offer people a discount for doing something you want them to do instead of punishing them for doing something you don’t want them to do. It’s just common sense.