Originally Posted by
flyerfmaz
TUS-DFW direct on American (7/30 to 8/3) is $453 R/T.
TUS-DFW-IAH on American (7/30 to 8/3) is $462 R/T.
TUS-IAH direct on United (7/30 to 8/3) is $915 R/T
TUS-IAH-DFW on United (7/30 to 8/3) is $454 R/T
This apparent oddness is probably a legacy from Continental. Whereas pre-merger United tended to sprawl all over the place, with many hubs and focus cities, PMCO focused on utter domination and ownership of EWR and IAH. And having largely achieved that, they charged through the nose for certain routes (mostly notably EWR-IAH nonstop, but also a fair number of other routes out of IAH). Some of those policies are still in place. I think it's exacerbated by the fact that IAH is -- unlike DFW -- an oil hub. If there's oil business in TUS, then there are probably a few companies with UA corporate contracts who have no problem paying the premium for nonstop. DFW is a different market, and AA has a different corporate cultural legacy.