I've been attempting to book a 5-week trip to LAX or SFO from MSP, and am wondering if the high prices for coach I've been seeing for some time are ordinary. For non-stop flights, I'm seeing prices of $1029 for MSP-LAX and $1051 for MSP-SFO for 5 week stays (for example, for midweek trips extending from 8/29 to 10/3, or 9/12 to 10/17, or 10/10-11/14). By contrast, the non-stop, midweek prices are $377 for MSP-LAX and $357 for MSP-SFO for 1 week stays (for example, from 8/29 to 9/05, or 9/12 to 9/19, or 10/10-10/17).

At first glance, this feature (i.e., higher prices for longer stays) currently seems to be the case for other destinations ex-MSP that I checked, such as SAN, EWR or even RSW. Comments please! If this is typical and prices don't usually drop for these trips with longer stays I would be inclined to bite the bullet and book now. I suspect that most of the trips taken by FTers are for shorter durations, but any insights would be appreciated.