Will Delta's AI algorithms ratchet up ticket prices and violate privacy? Lawmakers want answers

US lawmakers are demanding that Delta Air Lines come clean about its plans to expand the use of surveillance AI to determine individualized ticket prices. They're concerned it will lead to jacked-up fares, discrimination among travelers, and privacy abuse.

Two dozen US representatives have signed off on a letter to Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian, demanding transparency about the company's move toward individual-based pricing, which would replace its current dynamic pricing model.

“At a time when Americans are struggling to afford basic necessities, the airline industry is already highly concentrated, and generative AI is being deployed throughout the economy with limited transparency; this move could drive up prices for consumers and result in individualized, surveillance-based price discrimination,” the Congress Members wrote.

Essentially, AI-powered algorithms “decide” how much a consumer would likely pay for a particular flight based on information gathered about the individual through data scraping and data brokers.

Sensitive information, such as “location, device, income, social media activity, purchase history, and search history, could be up for grabs, lawmakers said.

.@Delta executives have openly bragged about using personal data and AI to set ticket prices. Our country is facing a crisis of affordability and surveillance pricing only makes it worse.@RepJerryNadler and I led our colleagues in a letter demanding transparency, because… pic.twitter.com/OI5AgeaLe6

undefined Congressman Chuy García (@RepChuyGarcia) November 5, 2025

Fears of privacy violations and price gouging

Providing individualized ticket offers based on personal information may not only violate federal, state, and local laws and be anti-competitive, but will also put Americans’ privacy at risk, the letter argues.

“Imagine if you are a family member, your granddaughter has just been born, and you start posting on Facebook. Delta is going to be able to use technology to actually skim that information. When you try to buy a Delta ticket, they know you actually want very much to see that grandchild,” said Senator Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) in an earlier interview.

Led by Rep. Jesús “Chuy” García of Illinois and Rep. Jerrold Nadler of New York, the Congressmen also say individualized pricing would bump up airline revenue by 5%, “clearly benefitting Delta’s bottom line at the expense of most consumers.”

The November 5th missive is a follow-up to a previous letter sent to the US carrier in July, expressing its “grave concerns” about Delta’s plans to deploy an “AI-based revenue management technology” system across 20% of its domestic network by the end of this year, and “eventually to cover all of its pricing,” the lawmakers say.

Delta currently uses AI to set prices on 3% of its domestic flights.

Gen AI ticket pricing could set unwanted precedent

The lawmakers call Delta’s response to the July letter inadequate at best and say the installation of such technology will be a slippery slope that is bound to eventually spill over into not just other airlines, but the entire travel industry, and beyond.

To provide the AI pricing software, Delta is partnering with the Israeli travel technology firm, Fletcherr, which also provides products for WestJet, Virgin Atlantic, and Jet2, among others. The company has satellite offices in Chicago and Miami.

“This issue has implications that extend beyond Delta and the aviation industry,” the lawmakers say, citing a past statement by Fletcher co-founder Robby Nissan, “‘[once] established in the airline industry, we will move to hospitality, car rentals, cruises, whatever.’”

The letter outlines over a dozen questions for the airline carrier, ranging from the data inputs that would be used to train the algorithm and how Delta will define personal data vs. personal information to which routes would be affected, and how many passengers per day could be targeted.

The lawmakers have given CEO Bastion until November 18th to respond to the letter.

Delta Air Lines serves more than 200 million passengers annually, flying to over 350 destinations worldwide, according to its website.