Data Confirms Airline Pricing Difference for Solo Flyers

The next time you're thinking about flying solo you might want to bring a partner or friend along. Why? Because it's cheaper.

That's according to some new reporting with damming data to prove it.Thrifty Traveler, one of the premiere travel sites, recently crunched some numbers and discovered that one airline, Delta, charged solo and business travelers higher fares per ticket than when booking for two or more passengers.

What's more, Delta is not the only airline doing this.

Thrifty Travelerreports that "all three of the country's largest carriers (American Airlines, United Airlines, and Delta) are penalizing solo travelers with higher ticket prices than you can book when traveling with a group -- sometimes, significantly higher."

For example, Thrifty Travelersearched for one passenger flying United in June from its Chicago-O'Hare (ORD) hub to nearby Peoria (PIA). Price? $269 one-way. But if you book "two (or three or even four) passengers," the price drops to $181 per person for that exact same standard economy ticket. As if that wasn't already shocking, the outlet reports that "a United basic economy fare suddenly appears that's even cheaper -- something that wasn't an option when searching for just one passenger."

Related: North America's Best Airline Isn't U.S.-Based

The Points Guy, another solid go-to source for frequent flyers, got a wind of the reporting and crunched their own numbers to see if it all checks out, and the outlet reports that it "found similar instances" in their own reporting earlier this month, "during which we noticed one-way flights priced higher for solo travelers than for multipassenger bookings."

The reporting by both outlets is fascinating and worth reading in its entirety.

Thrifty Traveler, which was first to report the pricing practice, offered another stunning example from American Airlines, which charged a solo passenger $422 for a one-way flight in economy on Oct. 13 from Charlotte (CLT) to Fort Myers (RSW).

But searching for two passengers for that exact same route on that exact same date returned a $266 per person fare, and even cheaper if booking an American basic economy fare.

It should be noted that Thrifty Travelersays this isn't a widespread problem in the industry. But it's alarming, nonetheless.

Data Confirms Airline Pricing Difference for Solo Flyers first appeared on Men's Journal on Jun 27, 2025