Originally Posted by
jtet
Is this simply a case of the traffic flying on OPM and UA [ahem] "messes" with the business travelers? With much of IAH traffic being oil related and the oil business being in a long slump and focus shifting to travel spend, is UA actively trying to push long-term UA flyers to switch to Southwest and fly to HOU instead? Or is there some trick in the fare rules that I haven't figured out?
SFO-IAH for whatever reason seems to be a popular dumping ground for a lack of reasonable fares. Definitely targeted at OPM - cheapest OW fare is an E fare (your $1,300 RT) whereas any RT fare requires at least a Sunday departure or Friday night.