Obama administration probing airlines over price-gouging claims

The Transportation Department is investigating whether five airlines unfairly jacked up prices in the wake of this spring’s Amtrak crash in Philadelphia.

Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx announced Friday that his department would be investigating the airlines’ response to the May derailment but offered few details about a price gouging inquiry he said was just launched. The department sent letters seeking information from the five airlines — American, Delta, Southwest, JetBlue and United — on Friday.

{mosads}The Amtrak crash brought rail travel to a standstill in the Northeast, and consumers quickly reported higher prices for plane travel in the region. Foxx acknowledged that price fluctuations are common in air travel but said his department would be examining whether the four airlines took advantage of consumers.

“Those airlines have allegedly raised fees beyond what you would ordinarily expect in the Northeast corridor at a time when the Amtrak line was shut down,” Foxx said at a breakfast sponsored by the Christian Science Monitor.

“Our inquiry is focused on getting to the bottom of whether there were unfair practices involved.”

Foxx said the department’s inquiry came following requests from Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) and a “flurry of concerns.” He added that the department’s investigation would be separate from the criminal inquiry into airline price gouging from the Justice Department.

This story was updated at 11:24 a.m.

Tags Anthony Foxx Chris Murphy

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