Is that a fair comparison though? Taking one or more stops rather than a non-stop is often cheaper... so it doesn't seem to be a straight $2700 saving to me...

Not comparing like-to-like after all...

I imagine savings ARE possible... but if comparing two non-stops I suspect the $$$ amount saved would be significantly lower....

And then the value of lounge access, baggage, upgrades etc might make the balance look much more even...