Hurricane Irma News: Delta Airlines Accused of Price Gouging
Delta Airlines has been accused of price-gouging while residents were trying to flee the states that will soon be hit by Hurricane Irma.
The coming of Hurricane Irma in Florida, South Carolina, and Georgia, have led them to become under states of emergency. However, one resident from Florida accused Delta Airlines of price-gouging after the price of a plane ticket increased heavily.
Twitter user @LeighDow said, "Shame on you @delta. Jacking from $547 to over $3200 for people trying to evacute responsibly? #IrmaHurricane," while sharing a screen cap of the price change on a ticket that she was about to book.
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However, a representative for Delta Airlines confirmed with Buzzfeed that it was only a pricing error on Expedia, the website where the ticket with the price change was found.
Delta Airlines spokesperson Trebor Banstetter said that they are already investigating why that fare showed up on Expedia. However, he reiterated that it was not the correct fare. He also added that they've already made contact with @LeighDow and have given her a "much lower fare."
Banstetter explained that since Hurricane Irma was approaching, they already "reduced the price level" of their highest fares. He also confirmed that they haven't made any increases in fares because of the hurricane.
Delta even announced on their page that they already put a $399 cap on all their flights from southern Florida until Sept. 13.
"Delta has been examining and adjusting fares in Florida since early this week, when Irma's path became apparent and demand to fly out of the area surged," the announcement reads.
However, Delta doesn't have any available flights from Miami, but they're trying to add more for the evacuees.
"We have added flights and upsized aircraft on flights out of San Juan and south Florida, providing more opportunities for customers to leave. New flights are being added to and from Miami, Palm Beach, Fort Lauderdale and Key West, all to Atlanta," Banstetter explained.
Delta has also temporarily waived any change fees because of the hurricane.
