<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by Tango:
The fuel surchage is a bit questionable. The price of fuel is a cost of doing business but the airlines do not want to raise their base rates so they put the surchage in the tax accounting lines. These taxes do not have to be shown when looking at published fares.
Even the DOT does not like this and is trying to stop the airlines from doing this.</font>
Whether the airlines (or any other company selling its product) itemize the various charges or not, as long as the charges are displayed up-front before I put the plastic on the table (or click the final "submit") I don't really care.
Think of this common situation: you are considering which of two washing machines to purchase. They are identical in all respects, save that one is $399 including free installation and delivery, whereas the other is $349 with a $50 installation and delivery fee. Assuming that one does not wish to self-install, one should be indifferent between the two, even though one is "cheaper." Sure, one can say that he/she would prefer to self-install--but that is a different product/service combination, just as one may choose to purchase a cheaper connecting instead of a non-stop flight.
Similarly, disclosed terms and conditions of special offers are perfectly fine. The DL and AA offers are no different than the restaurant that offers a buy one, get one free offer with the caveat that the discount only applies to the cheaper item.