Delta Air Lines' AI determines airfares for some passengers
July 18 (UPI) -- Delta Air Lines has begun to use AI to price tickets, charging people based on a calculation of what they should pay rather than a standard fare for all passengers.
Delta said it is using AI to determine 3% of current fares charged and considers this method of pricing by personal stats to be "amazingly favorable."
The company compiles the fares by using Israel-based Fetcherr AI, a Delta spokesperson told Fortune, a spokesman said.
Consumer Watchdog called the determination of what a passenger pays via AI "surveillance price gouging," which it said could "violate deceptive practices and unfair competition laws."
The non-profit advocacy organization noted that no state or federal laws protect consumers from any gouging that could occur with surveillance pricing.
Investors of the airline were told last week that Delta plans to bolster its AI ticket cost determination program to manage 20% of ticket sales by the end of the year. It may face hurdles, however.
"This isn't fair pricing or competitive pricing. It's predatory pricing," Sen. Ruben Gallego, D- Ariz., wrote in an X post Tuesday. "I won't let them get away with this."
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