Delta Issues Statement After Pricing Tactics Were Exposed
Earlier this week, a prominent travel writer exposed Delta, American, and United for an apparent pricing strategy that charged passengers more for solo seats than for group seats. Now, Delta has broken its silence on the matter.
Kyle Potter, executive editor at Thrifty Traveler, recently discovered that Delta, United, and American – the nation's three largest airlines – were charging significantly more for solo travelers than groups when purchasing the same tickets on the same flights.
"I saw a $206 one-way fare to Newark this summer," Potter told WCCO News. "I bumped it up to two passengers, then all of a sudden, I'm looking at $156 for the same fare."
"You start doing some math, double checking, 'What's going on here? Did I enter the wrong airport code? Did I change the date on accident?' It became pretty clear, quickly, this was a penalty for booking just one ticket," he told the outlet. "This isn't an isolated incident. This is a trend. This is something that airlines are doing in order to squeeze more money out of people who are booking just one passenger."
Following the news, WCCO reached out to each of the three airlines and received a brief comment from a Delta spokesperson, breaking the airline's silence on the matter.
In an email to WCCO, the spokesperson said that they were "limited in what it can say about pricing," but did add that "this pricing structure is not new to Delta or the airline industry."
It's worth noting that after this pricing tactic was exposed, Delta did update its fares nationwide on Friday afternoon and is no longer charging more for solo travelers, offering the same fares for solo travelers and groups of travelers.
United followed this move, updating its fares on Friday evening. American, however, had not updated its fares as of Sunday.
Delta Issues Statement After Pricing Tactics Were Exposed first appeared on Men's Journal on Jun 1, 2025
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