Airlines Are Charging More Than $4K For A One-Way Flight & Southwest Travelers Want Answers
"Is this not price gouging?"
A Southwest Airlines ticketing terminal.
Several days of flight cancellations by Southwest Airlines have left thousands of travelers stranded at airports around the United States. Passengers are looking for options at alternative airlines, but some one-way domestic ticket prices have skyrocketed.
On December 27, a stuck traveler, Veronica Ruckh (@VeronicaRuckh), tweeted a screenshot of her ticket search with Expedia for Delta and American Airlines flying from Philadelphia, PA, to Dallas, TX. The publication went viral with over 635.9K views of the uniquely high price points.
"The good news is, at least the other airlines aren’t taking advantage of the people who were stranded by @SouthwestAir," she wrote, and it's safe to assume her sarcasm since one-way tickets were shown to range from $1,788 to $4,370.
\u201cthe good news is, at least the other airlines aren\u2019t taking advantage of the people who were stranded by @SouthwestAir\u201d— Veronica \ud83d\udc81\ud83c\udffb\u200d\u2640\ufe0f (@Veronica \ud83d\udc81\ud83c\udffb\u200d\u2640\ufe0f) 1672171807
As she called out the two airlines for "taking advantage of" people who have been stuck at airports and are desperate to find other options, another Twitter user (@TheRealDBlair) found similar prices from American Airlines, as well.
"With @SouthwestAir collapsing in on itself, you’d think other airlines would be ready to compensate. However, their prices have crossed into predatory territory," he wrote after finding flights from DFW to Baltimore, MD for as much as $4,282. "@AmericanAir should be ashamed of themselves."
Another passenger, Kelsey Ryan (@relseykyan), was also impacted by the Southwest cancellations. She was trying to travel from Albany, NY, to Cincinnati, OH, and found United Airlines was asking for $1,672-$3,287.
\u201cI was unfortunately part of the #SouthwestAirlines flight cancellation issues\u2026 but I don\u2019t think enough people are talking about other airlines\u2019 response. Tried finding another flight and came across these insane prices from United. Is this not price gouging? How is this legal?\u201d— Kelsey Ryan (@Kelsey Ryan) 1672179064
In her Tweet, she questions if the massive numbers count as "price gouging" and how airlines are allowed to hike up their prices amid Southwest's issues.
On the contrary, KOCO reporter Andy Weber suggested in a post that these flight alternatives are perhaps priced so high because all that is left are first-class tickets.
Whatever the reasoning might be, many travelers are still at the airport hoping to find a way to get to where they need to be.
Before you get going, check out our Responsible Travel Guide so you can be informed, be safe, be smart, and most of all, be respectful on your adventure.