when carl icahn left in 1993, he arranged to have twa give karabu corp., an entity he controlled, the rights to buy twa tickets at 45% off published fares through september 2003. this was named "the karabu deal". the ticket program agreement, which began on june 14, 1995, excluded tickets for travel which originated or terminated in st. louis, missouri. tickets were subject to twa's normal seat assignment and boarding pass rules and regulations, were not assignable to any other carrier, and were not endorsable. no commissions were paid to karabu by twa for tickets sold under the ticket program agreement.