The optics aren’t good for an industry that has had plenty of bad press recently, but the price increases causing the most recent public relations nightmare might just be business as usual.

“Sure, some are high, but last-minute fares are often more expensive in general,” George Hobica, the founder of AirfareWatchdog.com, wrote in an email. “I don’t think airlines would be callous or stupid enough to be consciously jacking up fares.”

Airfare data by Hopper shows that the price hikes that took place this past week are similar to those from two weeks ago, suggesting that the price changes are typical for a week of departure flights.

“If there’s any gouge, it’s just the last minute walk-up airfares that are designed for desperate business fliers,” Mr. Hobica said. “It’s just the computer programs doing what they do when it’s last minute and seats are scarce.”

Delta, the target of the initial viral complaint, has denied changing its pricing structure leading up to Irma’s arrival and has capped its one-way fares out of South Florida at $399 through Sept. 13 (other airlines like JetBlue lowered one-way fares to as low as $99.) Delta also quickly responded to the tweet, earning some rare praise from the Twitter user.