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U.S. to investigate airfares after derailment

The U.S. Department of Transportation is investigating possible price gouging by five airlines in the days immediately after the May 12 Amtrak derailment in Philadelphia that left thousands of regional commuters scrambling for travel alternatives.

Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx (right) will look into whether airlines violated federal regulations after the May 12 Amtrak derailment. An airline-industry blogger said higher fares were results of supply and demand.
Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx (right) will look into whether airlines violated federal regulations after the May 12 Amtrak derailment. An airline-industry blogger said higher fares were results of supply and demand.Read moreAP

The U.S. Department of Transportation is investigating possible price gouging by five airlines in the days immediately after the May 12 Amtrak derailment in Philadelphia that left thousands of regional commuters scrambling for travel alternatives.

The department sent letters Friday to Delta, American, United, Southwest, and JetBlue, asking for price information for destinations between Washington and Boston during the time Amtrak service was suspended. Eight people died and more than 200 were injured when Train 188 derailed.

Airfares between New York and Washington seemed to skyrocket afterward. Coach fares between Washington Dulles and John F. Kennedy Airports were $1,000 and more one-way. A last-minute flight between Philadelphia International and New York LaGuardia was $537 each way for up to a week later.

Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said the department would investigate if prices violated federal regulations and the airlines engaged in unfair practices. "The idea that any business would seek to take advantage of stranded rail passengers in the wake of such a tragic event is unacceptable," he said.

In a May interview, Brett Snyder, author of CrankyFlier.com, an airline industry blog, said airlines did not change their fares.

"What happened was, the flights filled up. As planes get fuller, the fares go up for the remaining seats - the rule of supply and demand," he said. "That's what you see on every flight, and this was no different. It's just that these markets had higher-than-normal demand just because there was no Amtrak train. They were filling up more quickly, and so fares in some cases were going up."

Typically, airfares are lowest at least 21 days in advance of departure. Ticket prices increase quickly the week of a flight, and passengers pay on average 40 percent more for a ticket the day of a flight, according to travel tips published in April by Angie's List, the consumer-information website.

Casey Norton, a spokesman for American Airlines and US Airways, which operate 76 percent of the flights to and from Philadelphia, said Friday the airline was cooperating with the Transportation Department and expected no finding of wrongdoing.

"In response to the Amtrak derailment, we added capacity, and our fare structure remained the same," he said.