Can your airline ticket price change based on your age?
The media has repeatedly warned travelers to book their travel soon—because if they don’t, chances are high that their ticket price is going to increase dramatically.
As this happens, travelers are looking for any way to jet set without emptying their bank account. Some have even gone viral for claiming they have “hacks” to get the lowest-price ticket possible—though some of these tips are a bit questionable.
However, one traveler says that airlines are engaging in another questionable practice. Specifically, one woman claims that United Airlines attempted to overcharge her grandmother—based on her age.
Did United Airlines Overcharge This Woman Based On Her Age?
In a video with over 518,000 views, TikTok user @misstaliamia shows the booking portal for United Airlines.
“Booking a flight for my grandmother. Says $752, right?” she says. She then shows the flight: a one-way journey from Portland, Oregon, to Syracuse, New York. “I didn’t put any of her information in. She’s a senior—1949.”
After the TikToker puts her grandmother’s information in, however, something changes.
“‘Based on traveler information provided, the price of your ticket has changed,’” the TikToker reads. She then reveals the new price: $1156.20.
“So, United, you’re charging people for being older. You’re charging a senior tax,” the TikToker declares.
Just to check, the TikToker runs the test again, this time using her own birthday. When the passenger is not a senior, the ticket price returns to the original low price.
“You’re charging people—elderly people—$250 more, just because of their age,” the TikToker declares.
Does United Really Do This?
In a statement to SimpleFlying, United denied that they charged senior users more for the same flight. Rather, they said the events shown in this video were simply due to the way that their booking system operates and the user’s alleged use of Google Flights.
“United does not charge higher prices for seniors. The video shows an unusual situation, where Google Flights presented the customer an itinerary labeled as ‘first’ but actually contains mixed economy class and first class seats on connecting flights. This mixed itinerary is cheaper than an all-first class itinerary,” the spokesperson wrote.
The spokesperson said that, once the user entered all personal information, the system updated to show an accurate price.
“The Customer was then directed to United.com to purchase their ticket,” they said. “Changing the age of the customer to under 18 or over 64 causes United.com to re-check prices and returned an updated itinerary with seats in first class on both flights, which is what most customers seeking a first-class travel experience prefer. In the video, the prices are different because the cabins are different.”
Still, it’s unclear why simply changing the birthdate caused this price jump. We have reached out to United via email for clarification.
She’s Not Alone
Others on the internet have reported similar issues. One flyer claimed to receive a similar prompt and price jump using American Airlines, though it’s unclear if age was a factor. Another alleged that they received a comparable prompt and price increase after putting in their own information on United’s website; Google Flights was used during this purchase.
In the comments section, one user offered their own theory as to what happened here.
“When you enter a DOB over 65, United’s backend system automatically tries to apply a “Senior Discount”. However, senior discounts are tied to highly specific, legacy “fare buckets” (ticket tiers),” detailed a commenter. “If the standard economy tier is cheap but the designated ‘Senior tier’ is mostly sold out, the system forces the ticket into a vastly more expensive tier, raising the price instead of lowering it. Uncheck the senior fare and book as regular adult rate.”
Others said they, too, had seen pricing issues.
“This happened to me a few weeks ago on Delta website. by the time i finished adding names for all three passengers the ticket went up by $101,” recalled a user. “it took me 3 hrs to finally get a reasonable fare amount.”
“I’m not a senior and that happened to me as well,” stated another. “They give you one price and then you go to pay and it says something changed and then the price is $300 more.”
@misstaliamia How does this make sense @United Airlines ? You are overcharging senior citizens just because of their age? This is AGE DISCRIMINATION & predatory pricing tactics #airline #unitedairlines #fyp #blowthisup
BroBible reached out to United Airlines via email and @misstaliamia via TikTok comment.