Delta Air Lines has quietly rolled out artificial intelligence tools that personalize airfare pricing not just by demand and route, but by you. Red flags are being thrown up with concerns their AI-driven pricing engine analyzes your purchase history, travel frequency, status level, and even which credit cards you use—then determines how much you are likely to pay.
If you’re a loyal Delta Medallion member who regularly books business trips or luxury vacations, Delta’s AI may interpret that as, “You’ll pay more.” – Delta has recently denied that they will use personal information to increase prices, but the whole reason an airline would use AI is to maximize their revenue. That is what they are in business to do.
Now here comes the domino effect – United Airlines has now publicly stated it plans to piggyback off Delta’s AI pricing strategy – In recent investor briefings, United hinted at deploying similar “dynamic personalization” tools to boost revenue by using machine learning to adjust fares in real time based on customer behavior and profile data.
Here are Steve’s 5 ways to outsmart the new airline system:
- Use Incognito Mode: Always search for flights in a private or incognito browser window to mask your identity and search history.
- Avoid logging onto the airline website to search initially: Search for flights before signing into your Delta or United account. This way, you are incognito and they can’t use your information to serve up high prices.
- Clear Your Cookies: Delete your browsing history and cookies regularly to avoid price tracking.
- Shop Around: Use fare comparison tools like Google Flights, Skyscanner, and Hopper to benchmark prices.
- Try a VPN: Advanced users can test different geographic IP addresses, as fares may vary by country.
Delta and United are leading a quiet but powerful shift in airfare pricing – Your past loyalty could cost you. Until greater transparency or regulation emerges, smart travelers will need to beat the bots at their own game. Loyalty used to mean perks. Today, it might mean premium pricing.
Fly smart, question everything, and don’t be afraid to go undercover.
P.S. We are testing corporate booking tools to see if AI pricing from airlines will affect what prices are served up on booking engines like SAP Concur and others. Right now, we have not seen this significantly affect pricing; however, the airlines are playing a lot of games, and most of the time, they are not transparent.
Safe travels,
Steve Glenn
Chairman, Executive Travel
Simplifying Travel Since 1986