Delta Air Lines will start offering discounted fares to those of us planning meetings and events.

Apparently, the discounts will be based on a program once offered by Northwest Airlines that allowed travel buyers to negotiate discounts of between 5 and 7 percent, excluding taxes and fees, for meeting-goers. The policy was particularly helpful when a meeting was expected to attract attendees from multiple cities. Organizers could offer the meeting-fare discount to people headed to the event, no matter which city they were coming from. Meeting fare policies also often eliminated Saturday-night stay requirements.

Delta offered similar discounts for years as part of its Delta Meeting Network product, but abandoned the program when it launched its “SimpliFares” initiative four years ago. SimpliFares eliminated enough restrictions on ticket pricing that Delta told corporate buyers that meeting fares were no longer necessary.

Thanks Delta!