American Airlines quoted $496 for one passenger to fly from Miami to Charlotte, but just $155 per person when booking two passengers on the same flight. That means two tickets cost $310 total—$186 less than buying just one. Traveling alone more than tripled the per-person fare. That is one example from a new investigation into higher fares for solo travelers, and it raises an obvious question: why should traveling alone carry such a steep penalty?
American charged solo passengers more on 33.5% of the flights sampled, compared with 10.6% on United. The researchers found no such pricing on the flights sampled from Delta, Alaska, or Southwest.
The Miami–Charlotte example is particularly striking: $496 for one passenger versus $155 per person when searching for two, both for main cabin economy. Two tickets cost $186 less than one!
A great solo travel tip spotted this week on Live and Let's Fly.
