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Senators Press Delta for Transparency Over AI-Based Fare Pricing

Three Democratic senators have given Delta Air Lines a deadline to detail its AI pricing model’s data inputs, consumer safeguards, rollout scope after tests on 3 percent of domestic fares with a plan to cover 20 percent by year-end.

A staff uploads packages on Delta Air Lines plane at John F. Kennedy International Airport in Queens, New York City, U.S., April 23, 2025. REUTERS/Jeenah Moon/File Photo
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A Delta Air Lines plane at the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on April 9, 2025.

Overview

  • Senators Ruben Gallego, Richard Blumenthal and Mark Warner have asked CEO Ed Bastian to disclose by August 4 the data inputs, training methods and safeguards behind the airline’s AI pricing tests.
  • Delta is currently applying AI to set prices on about 3 percent of its domestic tickets in a heavy testing phase and aims to scale that share to 20 percent by the end of 2025.
  • The airline insists its AI-driven system only automates decades-old dynamic pricing rules and does not target individualized offers based on personal information.
  • Lawmakers and the Federal Trade Commission are reviewing potential privacy violations, discriminatory pricing and consumer fairness risks raised by individualized fare adjustments.
  • Experts warn Delta’s rollout could establish a template for other airlines and sectors to adopt granular, real-time price personalization.