Monday, AirTran announced a so-called “System-Wide Summer Sale.” FareCompare.com looked at the price history and found that instead, AirTran had raised prices, then lowered them, calling the delta a “sale.”

The historical data shows $158 is the baseline cost for a round-trip Atlanta-Chicago ticket. AirTran’s sale site lists a one-way ticket from ATL to CHI as costing $79.

Sorry, but returning to normative prices does not a sale make. — BEN POPKEN

System-Wide Summer Sale [Air Tran]
AirTran Historical Fare Data [Farecompare]

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