And in the Midwest it is the exact opposite. Today I purchased a ticket ORD-PEK-ORD for mid-March for $3000 in Polaris Business. If it was Small City-ORD-PEK-ORD-Small City they wanted $6500. And I tell you, Small City-ORD is a puddle jump that sometimes is 18 minutes wheels up-wheels down.
For sure, I did not make the same mistake I did for my trip to PVG that I took in January where I ended up buying an Economy seat from Small City because I forgot to check about departure from ORD. Lesson learned!
PS: with the price differential my wife is joining me on this trip
PS2: she would have joined me anyways as her favorite activity is travel. But Economy + is less fun than Polaris Business.