US: Airlines mark down tickets in Irma-affected areas following complaints
Airlines capped prices on tickets departing from much of Florida and the Caribbean, after customers complained that seats on the few flights that remained this week ahead of Hurricane Irma were far more expensive than usual. Senator Richard Blumenthal and Senator Edward Markey asked Transportation secretary Elaine Chao to monitor airlines after the storm passes to make sure they don’t try “to make a dime off disaster.” “Price-gouging practices can take root during emergencies,” they wrote to Chao. Airline computer systems automatically extract a premium from last-minute bookers,. Such algorithms can open the airlines to accusations of opportunism in a crisis. Earlier last week, some flights out of Florida, were priced at nearly US$1,000 one way. First-class prices were nearly double that. <br/>
https://portal.staralliance.com/cms/news/hot-topics/2017-09-11/general/us-airlines-mark-down-tickets-in-irma-affected-areas-following-complaints
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US: Airlines mark down tickets in Irma-affected areas following complaints
Airlines capped prices on tickets departing from much of Florida and the Caribbean, after customers complained that seats on the few flights that remained this week ahead of Hurricane Irma were far more expensive than usual. Senator Richard Blumenthal and Senator Edward Markey asked Transportation secretary Elaine Chao to monitor airlines after the storm passes to make sure they don’t try “to make a dime off disaster.” “Price-gouging practices can take root during emergencies,” they wrote to Chao. Airline computer systems automatically extract a premium from last-minute bookers,. Such algorithms can open the airlines to accusations of opportunism in a crisis. Earlier last week, some flights out of Florida, were priced at nearly US$1,000 one way. First-class prices were nearly double that. <br/>
