Several of the nation's airlines are capping fares in response to a deluge of last-minute bookings after Southwest Airlines canceled nearly 11,000 flights since last week, leading travelers stranded and the Biden administration demanding answers.
The price caps were announced by Southwest's rivals, including Delta, United, Spirit, and Frontier airlines, and come after Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg's call to the companies to help alleviate the situation, The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday.
"I'm encouraged to see several airlines have now committed to this step — all of them should," Buttigieg said.
American Airlines reported price caps through a series of tweets to customers in areas that were affected by cancelations, reports CNN.
After one traveler posted a screenshot showing flights from Southwest's rivals that cost more than $2,000, American responded: "We're doing our part to help get people where they need to be and we're putting a cap on fares for select cities."
Another passenger sent a tweet asking for help with delayed flights, and American replied that the customer could "kindly join us in DMs with the booking code, and we'll be happy to check on available options."
A United Airlines spokesperson told The Wall Street Journal that it is also "capping fares in select cities to make sure our flights are available to as many customers as possible."
Delta reported that price caps went into place Tuesday in all of Southwest's markets and will extend them through Tuesday.
Spirit Airlines waived modification charges and fare differences through Jan. 3 to and from more than a dozen cities that Southwest services, including Boston, Philadelphia, and New York, according to a travel advisory on its website.
Frontier said its highest fares have been capped at "predisruption levels."
Southwest on Wednesday canceled more than 2,500 of its flights, amounting to 62% of scheduled departures, according to data from FlightAware.
Southwest CEO Bob Jordan on Tuesday said the airline will operate on a reduced schedule for the next few days to allow the company to reposition its staff and planes.
Initially, Southwest canceled flights while struggling to stabilize its operations after the winter storm that swept the nation.
The canceled flights left thousands of holiday travelers stranded, but the other airlines have returned to normal after the storm, drawing questions from lawmakers and the administration, including Buttigieg, who said Southwest's disruptions were no longer weather-related and show a "system failure."
Buttigieg said Tuesday that the Department of Transportation will hold Southwest accountable for the travel disruptions.
Jordan acknowledged that Southwest has some "real work to do in making this right. For now, I want you to know that we're committed to that," and his company has said it is working with travelers to process their refunds and help with their detoured trips.
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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