Originally Posted by
gemac
So you think they won't notice during the purchase process that they are paying twice what they thought they would pay? If they do notice, they do not have to complete the purchase and are not tricked. If they don't notice, perhaps the government should assign them a Designated Thinker to follow them around and protect them from their screwups.
I think people will notice that the price does not match their expectations, so the behavior is only obnoxious instead of fraudulent, but it doesn't change the fact that the advertising materials are intentionally misleading.
Once again: why would American (and other airlines) do this if it didn't cause people to think that they would be getting a lower price than they actually are?