Hi all - I am sorry if this question is not worth a thread by itself, but didn't find a better place to post.

I was looking for flights from GRU to Switzerland/Italy later in June, and given outrageous prices in PE and C, I tried to experiment with F to see if any bargain was available (but that's also expensive). While doing so, I noticed something interesting and, for me, mysterious. Maybe someone here can explain why this is happening.

Base case - round-trip search on Ita
GRU-ZRH-MXP 21/06/2022
MXP-ZRH-GRU 01/07/2022
Approx. USD 6.700
GRU-ZRH books in F

Searching flight using multi-city view on Ita
GRU-ZRH 21/06
ZRH-MXP 22/06 or 23/06
MXP-ZRH-GRU 01/07
Approx. USD 4.700
GRU-ZRH books in A

It seems like that when booking a multi-city flight with separate segments I am able to book the first flight (GRU-ZRH) in A, while when using the normal round-trip search the first flight only shows in F. The same happens when looking at Expertflyer. Lastly, I could also price the cheaper itinerary on OTA, so it seems that it is really available.

Anyone knows how come this is happening?


Base Case: Round-trip search



Multi-city search