Are America’s Biggest Airlines Charging You More for Flying Alone?
American, Delta, and United were found to be charging solo travelers up to twice as much as groups
Photo: Courtesy of Luigi Laezza / Unsplash
The three largest airlines in the U.S., American Airlines, Delta, and United, are charging solo travelers higher fares than those booking in groups on certain routes, according to a new analysis of fare data.
Price disparities
The bulk buy discount was uncovered by Thrifty Traveler, which analyzed hundreds of fares from the three airlines on major routes after noting disparities in Delta’s pricing.
While the airlines aren’t penalizing solo travelers on all journeys, some routes showed stark price discrepancies.
Thrifty Traveler provided several examples of price discrimination from the carriers, including:
A September 10 Delta flight between Minneapolis-St. Paul (MSP) and Miami (MIA), with economy class tickets priced at $199 for a single traveler but $118 per person for a group of two or more
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A June 13 United flight from Chicago (ORD) to Peoria (PIA), with economy class priced at $269 for a single traveler or $181 per person for groups of two or more.
An October 13 American flight from Charlotte (CLT) to Fort Myers (RSW), with economy class priced at $422 for a solo traveler or $266 per person for groups. Additionally, groups can also book even cheaper basic economy fares for $231, a fare class not available for solo travelers.
Photo: Airbus A321neo on delivery from Toulouse. Courtesy of Airbus SAS
Since Thrifty Traveler highlighted these price disparities, both Delta and United have corrected them. Unfortunately, they’ve done so by removing the cheaper tickets for groups and charging everyone the higher fare. As of June 3, the highlighted American Airlines flight is still priced lower for groups.
Delta told Minneapolis TV station WCCO that the company is “limited in what it can say about pricing” but noted that “this pricing structure is not new to Delta or the airline industry.”
American and United haven’t commented.
The higher fares don’t extend across the market. There’s no evidence that the country’s next biggest airlines, JetBlue, Southwest, and Alaska, are penalizing solo travelers in similar ways. The flights highlighted by Thrifty Traveler were all domestic, one-way departures.
Singles tax
As Delta pointed out, airlines offering different types of travelers different ticket prices is hardly new. Price segmentation is entrenched in the aviation industry, with airlines consistently charging higher prices for travelers booking last minute and tweaking fares depending on where in the world the traveler is buying it from. For example, transatlantic round-trip journeys originating in Europe are often cheaper than those starting in the U.S.
These segmentation strategies historically favored solo travelers, who benefited from discounted fares.
Photo: Courtesy of by Suganth / Unsplash
However, the three major airlines seem to have decided they can make more money by charging single travelers more—perhaps hoping to mop up business travelers with expense accounts who are less sensitive to price hikes—or maybe just lose less by reserving discounts for groups of leisure travelers, a more price-conscious market segment, and have adjusted their pricing algorithms accordingly.
However, this pricing discrepancy has drawn particular ire, maybe because it comes at a time when more Americans than ever are flying solo. Amid higher rates of divorce and higher average age at marriage, 46 percent of U.S. adults are now unmarried, divorced, or widowed, according to Census data.
Some of those 117.6 million singles have drawn attention to what they call the singles tax, the higher housing tax, and the healthcare costs shouldered by those who live alone. Higher airfares add to that burden.
Photo: Courtesy of Denver International Airport.
The price hike for single passengers is particularly irritating from United, which in March positioned itself as the go-to carrier for solo travelers. Noting that 5% more passengers boarded its flights alone in 2024 than the year before, the carrier publicized travel hacks for solo travelers, including how to use its optimize its apps for trips alone.
While United and rival Delta have adjusted the fares highlighted by Thrifty Traveler, don’t expect price transparency from the airlines anytime soon. The use of AI means even more personalized fares may already be on their way.
Families already face travel penalties
Don’t assume families and groups are getting discounted rides from airlines. As part of its war on aviation “junk fees,” the Biden administration highlighted the penalty paid by families traveling with children to secure seats together.
Photo: Courtesy of Anete Lusina / Unsplash
Airlines regularly charge travelers fees ranging from $5 to $50 to choose their seats. Otherwise, they have them randomly assigned. While being seated across the plane for their group might be annoying for some travelers, for parents traveling with young children, it’s unthinkable, effectively forcing them to pay as much as $200 to reserve seats together.
In 2022, the Department of Transportation (DOT) issued a notice encouraging U.S. airlines to seat parties with children under 13 together for no additional charge. Last summer, the DOT proposed enshrining that policy into law. However, following the election of Donald Trump, that proposal has vanished.
