Social Media Users Slam Airlines for Spiking Ticket Prices Ahead of Hurricane Irma

As residents and visitors look to evacuate south Florida before Hurricane Irma blasts the area, [...]

By Kelsey Patterson

As residents and visitors look to evacuate south Florida before Hurricane Irma blasts the area, multiple airlines are looking to make serious profit from travelers' misfortune.

The airlines allegedly spiked ticket prices for flights departing Miami International Airport this week, making it more costly for those proactively leaving the area in danger. Irma, a Category 5 hurricane, is set to hit the Florida Keys by Saturday, current forecast trackers predict.

One Twitter user shows the price increase for a ticket from Miami to Phoenix on Wednesday via Delta Airlines. The original fare for the flight was $547.50 but spiked to $3,258.50, a 495 percent increase.

Two hours later, she tweeted again writing "@Delta reached out & helped tremendously. Note to travelers, always call airline directly if something doesn't look right." Still, Delta isn't the only airline accused of hiking prices for flights leaving south Florida.

Another person took to Instagram to lash out at American Airlines by sharing a screenshot of ticket fares from Miami to LaGuardia Airport in New York. They noted that the average ticket price for economy class was $497 on September 3, prices shot to an average price of $6,244 on Labor Day.

One Connecticut man, 53-year-old John Lyons, bought a one-way ticket from Miami to Hartford on Monday through American Airlines so his daughter could escape Irma's path. When he went to book a ticket for her roommate the following day, the price for the same flight was $1,020.

"American Airlines had the audacity to raise the rate $800... I think it's horrible what they are doing. I just think it's horrible. I'll leave it at that," Lyons told Yahoo! Finance. "I logged in and expected to see $160, and frankly if I had seen $260 I wouldn't have reacted. And I logged in and saw, $1,020, and I about had a heart attack," he said.

A spokeswoman for American Airlines issued this statement regarding the accusations of price gouging: "We have not changed our fare structures, and, in fact have added capacity to help get customers out of the affected areas. We have added several extra flights – from St. Maarten (SXM), St. Kitts (SKB), Providenciales, Turks and Caicos (PLS); and San Juan, Puerto Rico (SJU) – in addition to upgrading aircraft when possible. In addition, we have 33 airports included in our waiver program so customers will not be charged change fees or difference in fare with tickets for passengers who already held tickets. Full details on the waiver can be found at www.aa.com/travelalerts." A mandatory evacuation of visitors and residents of the Florida Keys goes into effect on Wednesday, September 6, the Tampa Bay Times reports, so travel itineraries and flights are in high demand for Miami and surrounding areas.

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