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Lawmakers Press Delta for Clarity on Use of AI in Ticket Pricing

By  |  November 5, 2025
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A group of 24 US House Democrats is pressing Delta Air Lines to explain whether it intends to use generative artificial intelligence to influence how ticket prices are set. According to Reuters, the lawmakers—among them Representatives Jesus “Chuy” Garcia, Jerrold Nadler, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and Dan Goldman—sent a letter to Delta CEO Ed Bastian seeking clarification on whether the airline could employ AI to raise prices through what they called “individualized, surveillance-based price discrimination.”

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    Per Reuters, Delta responded by emphasizing that it has never used, tested, or planned to use any pricing system that offers fares based on personal data or individualized targeting. However, members of Congress remain concerned that airlines might use AI tools or data from consumers’ online behavior—such as visiting websites related to funerals—to detect when customers are more likely to travel and adjust fares accordingly.

    The lawmakers said Delta’s previous responses to similar inquiries in July were insufficient. They wrote that while the company claims to have “strict safeguards to ensure compliance with federal law,” it has yet to explain what those safeguards entail. The scrutiny comes as Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said in August that his department would investigate any airline found to be using AI to determine individual ticket prices, warning that regulators “would engage very strongly” if such practices were discovered.

    Related: DC Lawmakers Face Pressure to Act on Ticket Price Inflation

    According to Reuters, Delta has announced plans to expand AI-driven revenue management technology to about 20% of its domestic network by the end of 2025 through a partnership with Fetcherr, an AI-based pricing firm. In a prior statement, Delta President Glen Hauenstein noted that generative AI could help tailor airfares to “that flight, on that time, to you, the individual,” a remark that has heightened lawmakers’ concerns.

    Some of the lawmakers involved in the inquiry, including Representatives Greg Casar and Rashida Tlaib, have introduced legislation that would ban companies from using AI or personal data to set individualized prices or wages. The proposed bill specifically prohibits airlines from adjusting prices after detecting a search related to sensitive personal circumstances, such as a family death. The measure is still under congressional review.

    Source: Reuters