Delta Air Lines is officially betting on artificial intelligence to price its flights – and not just in a small way. By the end of the year, the Atlanta-based airline plans to use AI-powered pricing to set fares on up to 20% of its domestic routes, a major expansion from where things stand today.

Delta first revealed late last year that it was testing AI-driven pricing on a small scale using technology from Israeli startup Fetcherr, deploying it on about 1% of flights. Seven months later, they’re ramping up fast.

“We like what we see. We like it a lot, and we’re continuing to roll it out,” Delta President Glen Hauenstein said on the airline’s latest earnings call. This means Delta is moving toward a world where fares could change not just by the hour or day but potentially by the customer.

Delta isn’t saying whether prices will go up or down as a result, but let’s be honest: Airlines don’t roll out new tech like this to make less money. The real risk is that it could make it even harder to know whether the price you see is actually a good deal, or just the best price Delta thinks you’ll accept.

 

So What Does This Mean for Travelers?

In short, forget static airfare prices. Delta’s goal is to use AI to determine what you are willing to pay – a “super analyst,” as Hauenstein called it, working around the clock to tweak prices based on demand, booking patterns, and more.

That’s a significant departure from how airfare pricing has traditionally worked. While it often feels mystifying (and frustrating), airfare pricing has used the same basic system for decades. Every time you search for a flight, the airline puts you into one of 20-plus pricing buckets — each with its own rules and price.

Throughout the day, prices shift as airlines adjust fares within those classes, all while consumer demand ebbs and flows. 

“This is a full re-engineering of how we price, and how we will be pricing in the future,” Hauenstein said. “We will have a price available on that airplane at that time that’s available to you, the individual.”

For now, Delta says this is all still in testing, and they’re “taking it slow” to avoid any “unwanted answers.” But if the early results stick – generating more revenue without frustrating flyers – you can bet this strategy will expand at Delta and across the industry.

Airlines have been working for years to develop a more dynamic, personalized pricing system. AI is the most straightforward path to making that a reality. And Delta isn’t the only one experimenting: To some extent, WestJet, Virgin Atlantic, Air Asia, and others have all fessed up to using AI in some form to help squeeze as much revenue as possible out of travelers.

This shift will likely lead to more incentives to book directly with Delta instead of third-party travel sites, as AI-driven pricing could make booking directly with the airline even more essential for getting the best price – think something similar to Delta's TakeOff 15 benefit, which provides a 15% discount on SkyMiles award bookings to travelers who carry certain co-branded Delta and American Express credit cards. 

For now, though, travelers can still go straight to Google Flights to search, compare, and track airline prices. But as Delta continues rolling out AI pricing, expect more of the personalized, AI-driven fares to live exclusively on Delta.com or the Delta app, with extra incentives to lure you to book directly.

That means it may soon get even harder to know whether the price you’re seeing is truly the best available, or just the best Delta thinks you’ll pay.

Related reading: Why Did Your Flight Cost Suddenly Jump? Explaining Changes in Airfare Prices

 

Bottom Line

Delta is expanding its use of AI to price its flights, with plans to personalize fares for each traveler in the not-so-distant future. It’s still in the testing phase, but if it proves successful, it could completely reshape how airfare pricing works – not just at Delta, but across the airline industry.