Why Solo Travelers Are Paying More for Flights—and How to Avoid It

U.S. airlines are quietly charging solo travelers more, and it’s baked into the way ticket pricing works. If you’re traveling alone, you might be getting hit with a hidden premium—and Another Word For Travel has done the digging to figure out why, and how to beat the system.

What’s Actually Happening?

Solo travelers are sometimes being nudged into paying more because of how airline pricing systems are built. These systems weren’t necessarily designed to penalize people like you and me who love traveling alone—but that’s often what ends up happening.

1. Fare Buckets Are Not Your Friend

Airlines divide seats into pricing tiers called fare buckets. These aren’t visible to us when we search for flights, but behind the scenes, they determine what we pay. Imagine the cheapest fare bucket has 3 seats at $150, and the next one up has 5 seats at $200.

If I’m traveling solo, the system might decide not to show me that last $150 seat and instead push me into the $200 tier. Why? Because it’s been optimized for revenue, not fairness. If I were booking for two people, sometimes the system will combine a lower-priced seat and a higher-priced seat to give an average fare that's cheaper than what I’d get as a solo flyer.

This means that just by flying alone, I can be shown more expensive seats, even when cheaper options still technically exist. It feels unfair, and frankly, it is.

2. Assumptions About Solo Travelers

Here’s the kicker: booking engines sometimes assume that solo travelers—especially those booking last-minute—are business travelers. The logic? If you're flying alone, you’re probably traveling for work, and that means you’re less price-sensitive.

So even if I’m a budget-conscious traveler trying to squeeze in a spontaneous weekend getaway, the system might still bump me into a more expensive fare class just because I’m solo. It’s profiling, algorithm-style.

3. Dynamic Pricing is Watching You

We’ve all experienced it: you search a flight on Monday, it’s $220. You come back on Wednesday, and it’s mysteriously $287. That’s dynamic pricing—where the fare changes based on factors like your location, search history, time of day, and even your device.

Here’s how this affects solo travelers:

• If I’m checking flights multiple times a day, the system thinks I’m serious—and maybe desperate.

• It might bump up the price because I look like someone who’s ready to click “book” no matter what.

• And because I’m only booking one seat, the airline knows it won’t make any more money from me on this transaction. So they try to squeeze what they can.

4. The Proof is in the Fare Charts

I thought I was imagining things—until I started doing side-by-side comparisons. I searched flights from New York to Chicago on American Airlines and saw:

• 1 passenger = $296

• 2 passengers = $228 per person

Even worse? When some airlines got called out in 2024, they quietly made adjustments… and then rolled those changes back. United, for instance, briefly fixed the solo pricing issue—then brought it back months later. American never addressed it. Delta backed down after media backlash, but it’s unclear if it was a real fix or just a PR move.

5. No One Is Regulating This

As much as I’d love to report this to someone who can fix it, here’s the unfortunate truth: there’s no law against it. The Department of Transportation doesn’t regulate how airlines set prices, and as long as airlines aren’t discriminating against protected classes (like race or gender), they’re free to charge what they want.

So unless you catch it and do something about it yourself, you’re just expected to pay more. And that’s exactly what most solo travelers are unknowingly doing.

Another Word For Travel’s Favorite Tricks for Beating Solo Travel Pricing

I’ve tested a bunch of strategies, and these are the ones that have actually saved me money:

1. Search for Two Passengers First
   I always start my flight search with two passengers. If the per-person price drops, that’s a red flag. I sometimes book both and cancel the second (if refundable), or look for an airline with flexible policies.

2. Use Incognito Mode
   Always. Airline sites track your search behavior, and prices can jump the more you look. Incognito or private browsing keeps things cleaner.

3. Split the Trip into One-Way Flights
   Round-trips are convenient, but I’ve saved hundreds by booking each leg separately. It also gives me flexibility to mix airlines or departure times.

4. Use Flight Comparison Tools
   I swear by Google Flights, Kayak, and Skyscanner. They help me see price trends and weird fare changes that solo travelers often miss.

5. Take Advantage of Loyalty Programs
   If you fly often, airline credit cards and frequent flyer accounts offer perks like free bags, seat upgrades, and bonus miles—great for offsetting hidden costs.

6. Call the Airline
   If something looks off, I call. Agents can sometimes see fare classes that don’t show up online. It’s old school, but it works.

7. Book Early & Be Flexible
   Solo pricing spikes the closer you get to departure. I try to book early and avoid Fridays, Sundays, and holidays whenever I can.

Final Thoughts

Flying solo shouldn’t come with a hidden price tag. But for now, it does—at least sometimes. The good news? Once you know what to look for, you can work around it. I’ve saved money by being curious, testing different search methods, and refusing to accept the first price I see.