Travelers hoping to get on a flight out of Florida ahead of Hurricane Irma may find they’re facing sky-high prices.
Consumers took to social media this week to complain about price gouging out of Florida ahead of the Category 5 storm — showing screenshots of examples like a $1,738 United flight between Miami and Indianapolis, and a $2,370 American flight between Miami and Los Angeles. The latest forecasts project the “potentially catastrophic” storm could make landfall in south Florida this weekend.
Airfare experts say the price changes aren’t an attempt by the airlines to capitalize on desperate travelers, but rather, an unfortunate combination of regular airline practices that penalize last-minute bookings. (Although that’s still cold comfort for anyone trying to evade Hurricane Irma.)
“I don’t think they’re gouging,” said George Hobica, publisher of travel site AirfareWatchdog.com. “Especially in this day and age where social media can be so cruel, an airline isn’t going to take a chance on that.”
Airlines often set up fare structures so that pricing jumps 21, 14 and three days out from departure, to capitalize on last-minute business travelers, said Alex Chang, a data scientist for fare-tracking site Hopper. Floridians looking to get out ahead of Irma are in that window.
Airlines also price seats in a variety of ticket classes, and the least expensive ones typically sell out first.
“Prices overall will go up, simply because of how they’re structured,” Chang said. “Because people want to get out, suddenly there are no more seats or only expensive seats left.”
Several airlines say they are taking steps to add capacity or lower prices.
In an emailed statement to CNBC, an American Airlines spokeswoman said the airline has taken steps to increase capacity by adding flights and shifting to larger aircraft when possible.
“We have not changed our pricing structure, and, in fact have added capacity to help get customers out of the affected areas,” she said.
JetBlue announced Wednesday that it would cap fares for one-way direct flights in select markets that still have seat availability. Those reduced fares run $99 to $159, including taxes, a spokesman said in an emailed statement to CNBC.
“We have added flights to our schedule out of select cities where we have aircraft available,” according to JetBlue’s statement.
Delta did not immediately respond to requests for comment, but in a news release on its site, said it has added flights and increased the size of aircraft on flights out of south Florida.The carrier also said it has been monitoring fares amid rising demand for seats.
“For flights departing south Florida in the next week, Delta reduced its highest fares, typically seen when customers are booking last minute travel when inventory is low and demand is highest,” according to the release.
United and industry group Airlines for America did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Finding a reasonably priced ticket likely won’t be easy, given rising demand, limited capacity and a dwindling timeframe as the storm approaches. Don’t wait any longer to look, or book, Chang said.
“The closer you are, the fewer options you have,” he said.
Flexibility is key, Hobica said. Cast a wide net on departure airports, airlines and destinations, he said. Price out both one-way and round-trip tickets, and play with the return dates if you opt for the latter.
If you don’t have a specific destination in mind beyond “away from Irma,” consider looking at fare sites like Hipmunk or Kayak that can search for the best deals out of your home airport.
One area to be picky: Timing. Booking a weekend flight could backfire, Chang said.
“Flights are probably going to be canceled on Saturday or Sunday, whenever the hurricane makes landfall,” he said.