The introduction of solo surcharges has caused a lot of commentary on price discrimination strategies. However, airlines in the USA are not the first airlines to adopt this form of price discrimination.
My personal experience with American Airlines
First reported by Thrifty Traveler, I personally encountered it on May 17, booking a corporate client from Chicago to Santa Ana in California. a couple of weeks ago. I realized, when searching for one person, it was showing a fare of US$455 per person but when searching the fare for two people, it was showing US$314 per person.
What I did not fully appreciate was that this was an intentional solo surcharge. I just assumed it was a glitch in the system, and I took advantage of that glitch.
Singapore Airlines has been doing it for a while…
I know for a fact, that Singapore Airlines has been doing it for a very long time. Back in the days when sales were advertised on newspapers, I would routinely see different offers depending on the number of travelers on the same reservation.
Even today, Singapore Airlines still has promotions for a minimum booking size.
If you buy your tickets from Hong Kong, you will get a 10% discount on selected destinations, as long as you have at least three people on the reservation.
My experience with solo surcharge fares on Singapore Airlines
Many years ago, when I wanted to live in airports, I decided that I would come to the airport at 10am for a 6pm flight to Delhi, from Singapore. When I got to the airport to print my boarding pass, I was denied check-in by the agent. The agent explicitly mentioned that the ticket has been booked under a minimum 2-to-go offer, and that they need two people to present themselves at check-in so I can be issued a boarding pass.
At that time, my father graciously drove from the office to check both of us in so I could get the boarding pass. I cannot speak to the current policy; however, I believe a similar policy will apply. If your ticket is booked with a minimum number of passengers, you will need those number of passengers to check-in.
Is there a way to get around the solo surcharge?
I am curious, has anyone tried splitting the PNR of a fare which has a solo surcharge applied to it? If that was successful, that might be an easy way to circumvent the solo surcharge.
Conclusion
While solo surcharges might be a new phenomenon in North America, it is a very common in Asia. It is a great way to price discriminate. While solo travelers do get hurt with this approach, I suspect the airlines believe that the benefit far outweighs the costs. After all, as a proportion of travelers, how many are solo leisure travelers?
