ah, yes... the infamous CO ATL hub I am assuming that you were travelling last minute from EWR to IAH...

EWR-IAH direct = $1,400+... EWR-ATL-IAH = ~$400...

I've done that thru RDU also, but that airport flat out sucks and the "connections" are far too long, as much as 2.5 - 3 hours... on some of the ATL routes, the aircraft that comes from IAH is the same one that goes to EWR... I know I posted this before, but the last time I did this it was pretty funny... we were on a 735 and I think at least half of the FC pax got off the plane and then reboarded and it was the same crew... the crew was bewildered and we all looked at each other like "hey, you know this too? "