Feds end airline price-gouging probe without finding fault

WASHINGTON – The Transportation Department says it has ended its investigation into allegations of price gouging by five airlines operating flights in the Northeast without finding any wrongdoing.

Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx announced last year that the department was investigating whether American, JetBlue, Delta, United, and Southwest airlines raised the airfare for flights to major airports in the corridor between Boston and Washington following a May 2015 Amtrak train derailment.

The derailment in Philadelphia scrambled Amtrak service for days, forcing thousands of passengers to make other travel arrangements at the last minute. One congressman cited an airfare of $2,300.

The department quietly sent letters to the airlines recently saying the investigation found “no evidence of unfair manipulation of airfares or capacity, nor evidence of unconscionable increases in fares beyond normal pricing levels.”