Space Travel Industry Accused of Price Gouging

by Skip DeKades

January 27, 2029 — Officials in New York state, Florida and California are investigating claims that spacelines are engaging in price gouging as people scramble to leave Earth before a deadly asteroid strikes the planet later this year.

Space fares edged up further Monday even as rocket fuel prices fell to a seven-month low on a strengthening dollar.  Passengers are complaining that the spacelines are taking advantage of the increase in bookings to hike fares more than necessary.

The average fare for a one-way ticket to the Moon is now $35,000, up $4,000 from last year at this time and $1,000 more than last week.  Prices have spiked since NASA Corp. disclosed Jan. 9 that they had detected a two-mile-wide asteroid heading on a collision path with Earth. The impact is expected to swiftly destroy most life on the planet and make it uninhabitable for the survivors.

Florida Attorney General Sonny Day has issued subpoenas to four companies after receiving several hundred price-gouging complaints. And New York Attorney General Priscilla “Prissy” Cooter subpoenaed American Spacelines, U.S. Spaceways and Lunar Spacelines for allegedly charging exorbitant fares. 

Government officials in the European Union and Japan are also investigating claims of price gouging in the space travel industry.

Spaceline executives deny that they are taking advantage of the world’s end, and say the escalating number of people buying tickets off the planet are increasing their costs. “We have to pass those expenses off somewhere,” said U.S. Spaceways Chief Executive Hyrum Pryce.

But Day says the rate hikes are inexcusable. “These price increases will result in only rich people being able to get to the Moon and grab up all the vacant land, leaving middle- and lower-class Americans stuck living on escape vessels.” (President Angelina Jolie has promised to transport every American off the planet via massive space barges.)

But even travelers who can afford the tickets are griping about the cost.

“My wife and I are spending our entire life’s savings to get our family off of Earth,” said Spencer Thurman of Syracuse, N.Y. “American spacelines have been screwing their passengers for years. It was bad enough when they stopped serving freeze-dried meals during flights and restricted artificial gravity service to first-class cabins.”

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