Originally Posted by
MSPeconomist
Last minute TATL walkup coach fares of $2500 per person don't seem extraordinary to me, whether booked as OW or RT.
It's a bit late in the day for today, but tomorrow is a pretty good proxy for "walkup" in the case of DUS-LAX. There are four carriers offering RT tickets DUS-LAX departing tomorrow for $913 - $1,400, with a few combinations for a bit more. OW DUS-LAX for tomorrow running $915 - $1,500 on 5 carriers. All with a single connection in Europe.
Needless to say tomorrow is not OP's situation on October 1, but I do think that $2,500 is out of range., perhaps suggesting a less than thorough look at what was out there.