American, Delta, and United are allegedly using similar pricing tactics.
Solo travelers often get the short end of the stick when booking hotel rooms and group tours. But, unbeknownst to many, U.S. airlines are also seemingly making them pay extra for flying alone. This penalty was discovered by Thrifty Traveler last week, when its executive editor, Kyle Potter, found that Delta was charging more for single tickets than when booking for two or a group. His investigation later revealed that he found it is not just Delta using these pricing tactics; American Airlines and United also allegedly follow this practice.
Potter provided examples. For a one-way trip from Minneapolis to Miami in September, Delta charged $199 for a solo ticket. When he added another passenger, the price dropped to $118 per person. Expanding his search, Potter found United did something similar. On a flight from Chicago to Peoria, Illinois, the fare was $269 for one, but dropped to $181 each for two in economy. When searching for two, the same itinerary showed basic economy fares at $151 per passenger—an option missing for solo travelers. Opening a new fare bucket for groups, rather than raising prices as more people book, is the reverse of airlines’ typical approach.
For American Airlines, the price difference was even more pronounced. On a route from Charlotte, North Carolina, to Fort Myers, Florida, solo travelers paid $422, while two could book the same flight for $266 per person—or less on a basic economy ticket ($231), which was not an option for solo travelers.
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None of the three airlines responded to inquiries from Thrifty Traveler, CNN, or The Washington Post. Airlines are known for avoiding comments on price structures and rarely explain how pricing works. Industry experts say dynamic pricing is at play, with airlines factoring in real-time data, historical bookings, competitor pricing, seasonality, and demand. Ticket prices may also vary based on aircraft, baggage, and other services. Airlines use segmentation, or fare buckets, which open at set prices as cheaper seats fill up.
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According to Potter, airlines do not offer group discounts. Typically, booking more tickets increases the price per ticket. “If there’s only one fare available at the cheapest $118, searching for two would only yield fares at a higher, $199 price point,” he explained. In any case, this is not a discount for group travelers—because airlines would advertise it—but a penalty for solo travelers, as airlines are trying to hide it, he told The Washington Post.
Potter noted that this is not a widespread practice. He noticed such pricing on a selection of domestic routes, not all, and did not find similar discrepancies on international flights. Most examples involved one-way itineraries. His theory is that airlines may be targeting business travelers who buy their tickets with company cards and may be less price sensitive. It is also possible that airlines are testing this on a smaller scale and could expand the practice in the future.