24left I understand the gist of your argument and the chocolate chip example, and I appreciate all the screenshots to illustrate your point. Its all a bit convoluted, and I think thats why someone like me
doesnt really have the time or interest in looking at all the fare buckets and price points searching for an actual sale price on a flight. You mention drugstores and grocery stores with their flyers.
I cant really speak for grocery (my wife is the one who knows her prices) but I will respond re drug store "sales" as I have worked for (and was an owner)
at SDM for 40 years now. In our world, its either in the flyer and on sale or its not. The flyer starts, the merchandisers put the talkers up, the computers
change the retail, and the item is on sale. No middle ground, no grey area. Never have I seen in an SDM flyer "new Lower Prices on all products
from Sep 15 to Mar 15." and then we jack the prices by 15% If an item is "on sale" you dont have to go searching for a special "sale shelf" in the back corner of the store to find it.
I still maintain this is sneaky advertising bordering on "false" and it pisses me off as a loyal AC customer of many years. I am often an AC apologist when I read some of the complaints
on this board, but this ongoing trickery causes me not to trust them. One of our company slogans back in the day at SDM was that customers could "trust and depend" on our stores
for service and honesty. I know a lot of people dont like & dont trust Big Pharma or Big grocery, but at least a sale is a sale. Unfortunately stuff like this by AC doesnt fit that mold. My take may sound a bit simplistic, and Im sure the AC lawyers have approved it but it just smells bad.