Delta Adds 2,000 Plane Tickets For Hurricane Irma After Price Gouging Accusations

Delta added 2,000 more seats Thursday to help people who wanted to flee Hurricane Irma. The day before, however, they were accused of price gouging an evacuee 600 percent after the traveler tried to purchase a Delta ticket from Miami to Phoenix through Expedia. The airline, who has a troubled past, quickly dispelled the rumor and helped the evacuee find a reasonably priced ticket.

The carrier added flights to airports in Punta Cana, Nassau, Freeport, Key West, Miami, Ft. Lauderdale, Sarasota, Orlando and more, they said in a press release.

One-way flight prices to and from southern Florida were capped at $399. This price is slated to last until Sept. 13.

Delta loosely addressed their price gouging drama, citing a source that said supply and demand plays a factor in the price of plane tickets.

“There's only so much airline capacity to any destination. When bad weather hits, there's typically a surge of last-minute demand,” Henry Harteveldt, a San Francisco-based travel industry analyst, told thed airline. “Normally, these last-minute fares may be expensive. When bad weather may affect a city or region, an airline can make more last-minute, lower-fare seats available to help people who need to travel find and get an affordable fare.”

Previously, Delta denied increasing the cost of plane tickets because of the storm. “We have absolutely not been raising prices,” a spokesperson told International Business Times Wednesday.

The accusation was raised Tuseday by Leigh Dow, a public relations executive, who was trying to safely evacuate from the hurricane area. She shared a screenshot that showed her flight from Miami to Phoenix was “jacked up” 600 percent.

“Shame on you @delta. Jacking from $547 to over $3200 for people trying to evacuate responsibly? #IrmaHurricane,” she tweeted.

The rep blamed Expedia.com for the problem. Ultimately, “she was satisfied with the fare she got,” the rep said.

Considering the deadly nature of Irma, Delta said they would not charge an additional fee for anyone who wanted to make changes to their travel plans.

The airline advised the best option when looking for a plane ticket was to call them directly or go to Delta.com. Leigh, whose tweet was shared more than 57,000 times updated her followers she was given a fair price.

“The @Delta team explained how it happened, and another airline was also involved. That wasn't obvious to me. They intervened & helped us out,” she wrote. “.@Delta reached out & helped tremendously. Note to travelers, always call airline directly if something doesn't look right.#IrmaHurricane.”

As Irma heads toward Florida, Gov. Rick Perry cautioned people who lived on both coasts to get ready to evacuate. “Every Florida family must prepare to evacuate, regardless of the coast you live on,” he said.

At the time this article was written, it was unknown if Irma would make landfall in Florida. The storm killed at least 11 people and decimated Barbuda, destroying 95 percent of the buildings.

Follow me on Twitter @mariamzzarella