Solo Travelers Charged 'Significantly' More by Top Airlines Than Pair or Group Flyers: Report

A new report reveals that the nation's three largest airlines—Delta, United, and American—have been quietly charging solo travelers more than passengers who book in pairs or groups.

While it wasn't found to be widespread across all routes, a Thrifty Traveler report discovered that on select one-way domestic flights, solo travelers are routinely paying significantly more—sometimes $80 or more—than if they had booked with another passenger. In several examples, prices for individual tickets dropped sharply when travelers searched for two or more seats, even on the same flight.

United, for instance, charged $269 for a one-way ticket from Chicago to Peoria for one traveler, but just $181 per person when booking for two. Similar fare discrepancies were found on Delta and American flights. In many cases, booking with a second passenger also unlocked cheaper fare classes that were otherwise unavailable to solo travelers.

Airfare experts say this is not a glitch but a deliberate pricing tactic rooted in "fare class segmentation." Airlines open specific buckets of discounted fares based on the number of seats requested. And in this case, it appears solo flyers are being steered into more expensive fare classes—likely because they're assumed to be less price-sensitive, such as business travelers expensing tickets to a company.

Analysts suggest this may be a test run or limited rollout of a new pricing approach targeting perceived business travelers. It remains unclear how long it has been going on.